Are plant-based diets better for planet?

In order to save the planet, our society needs to switch from a meat-based diet to one centered on exclusively fruits and vegetables, right?

Maybe not so fast. A new research study calls into question whether a societywide switch to vegetarianism or even veganism is really better for the planet. And the findings have interesting implications for the debate over family cattle ranching in Marin County.

The established narrative is that meat-based diets contribute to climate change in a variety of ways, from the amount of water used to grow cattle feed to methane emitted by cows. Advocates of vegetarian diets also charge that the livestock industry is cruel to animals.

But researchers from the University of Georgia took a closer look at these arguments, and found that many of them don't hold water. In a study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Political Ecology, they found that environmental benefits of a plant-based diet were overblown — and that the most environmentally friendly and ethical diet consists of mostly plants with some local and humanely raised meat.

How can this be? Like an artificially engineered hamburger, a lot of work goes into developing plant-based alternatives to meat. For example, most of the soybeans used in tofu and tempeh are not grown in the U.S., but rather in India, where soybean production contributes to deforestation and habitat loss.

And the environmental cost of meat alternatives doesn't stop there. Once harvested, soybeans must be transported thousands of miles to the U.S. — a practice that the authors characterized as its own environmental catastrophe, generating pollution that can contribute to climate change.

Other vegetarian alternatives aren't much better. Vegan substitutes for butter or lard, like palm oil, come from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Nigeria. Ecosystems in these countries have been devastated as forests are razed to produce palm oil, the researchers note.

What's more, many of the overseas producers of palm oil have been charged with human rights violations in the treatment of their workers. Many have even been accused of using child labor.

Why does this matter in Marin County? In recent years, we have witnessed a carefully orchestrated assault on the county's agricultural heritage. This assault has taken multiple forms, from attempts to evict family ranches from Point Reyes National Seashore to the attempt in 2022 to scuttle Measure A, which provides funding for parks and recreation, with a small portion going to preserving family ranches.

Most recently, activists have filed suit against board members of the Marin Resource Conservation District (“Marin conservation panelists accused of `self-dealing' farm projects,” March 6). The lawsuit accuses commissioners of conflict of interest in paying the commission's bills for restoration projects on their properties. The litigants in this case are the same individuals who have also fought to evict ranches from Point Reyes.

The philosophical underpinning of this movement is that eliminating cattle ranching in Marin County is necessary to “save the planet” from the environmental impact of a meatbased diet. But to paraphrase the University of Georgia researchers, this merely “greenwashes” the issue.

The researchers believe that, in actuality, the best diet for the planet is one that consists mostly of plants but that also includes local, humanely raised animals. They say animals raised on free-range pastures contribute to the health of soils, forests and, ultimately, the wider ecosystem.

In many ways, the ideal model they describe is exactly what we have here in Marin County. Animals are raised on free-range ranches and, when they are eventually harvested, it's a short trip from farm to table — minimizing the environmental impact of transporting food.

Looking more broadly, California officials have taken steps in recent years to ensure that animals are raised in more humane conditions. The passage of Proposition 12 in 2018 — which was approved by 62% of voters — indicates that there is broad-based support for humane ranching in California, even if it translates to higher prices at the grocery store.

So, rather than shutting down family ranches in Marin County, we should be lauding them as a model for a sustainable future, one in which locally raised plants and animals make a positive contribution to the health of both people and our planet.

Brian Casey, of San Rafael, is a journalist covering health technology.