How to reduce the ecological footprint of your plate without becoming vegan?

Are you having guests over for a barbecue at the end of the week? What will you put on the grill? Animal proteins, most likely. Even if we know the effects of red meat consumption on the environment and potentially on health, for many people it's inconceivable to go without.

So writes Valérie Simard in a new La Presse article which dives into a recent McGill study which looked at the consequences of partially replacing red and processed meats and dairy products with plant proteins. The findings, published in the journal Nature Food earlier this year, show that the carbon footprint of our diet falls by 25% when we replace half our consumption of red and processed meats with plant proteins. For dairy products, the reduction is 5%.

"It's not enough to meet the Paris Agreement targets, but all sectors of the food supply chain must play their part in reducing the greenhouse gases associated with food production and processing," said Olivia Auclair, a nutrition graduate with a PhD in animal science and the study's lead researcher.

The study also highlights the low impact on individual nutrition, apart from a drop in calcium intake when dairy products are partially substituted. In fact, life expectancy can be increased by seven to nine months! Not insignificant co-benefits, according to Olivia Auclair, when it comes to modifying one's diet.