merican meat consumption has almost doubled in the last century. In June 2024, 14,5% of the world’s surface had record-high temperatures. What do those two facts have in common? Far more than most of us would like.
It’s no secret that the meat industry plays a significant role in our current climate crisis, and yet, despite this, many of us have struggled to give it up. Some of the best meals and holidays are centered around Turkey, steak, and crispy chicken wings, but here’s the thing: you don’t have to give up meat completely to make a difference. A reducetarian approach offers a new way of doing things that can still help us slow climate change. In fact, it can do a lot more than that.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about reducetarianism and the concept of eating less meat, rather than cutting it out altogether. We’ll look at the environmental benefits, how it can boost your health, and what dietary adjustments lowering your meat intake might require (spoiler: it’s less than you’d expect).
Table of Contents
What Does Reducetarianism Mean?
Usually when people hear about “eating less meat” they jump to veganism or vegetarianism. Reducetarianism, however, is about reducing how much meat you eat rather than removing it from your diet altogether. The Reducetarian Organization defines it as committing to less meat, dairy, and eggs, but it’s more commonly used to describe simply cutting back on meat products.
Where a vegan or vegetarian diet is more extreme, reducetarianism “meats” you in the middle. Sorry, we had to. The whole point of this approach is that it’s not as serious. It’s all about making meaningful changes without forcing a complete dietary overhaul. It’s why, for many people, reducetarianism offers a more sustainable way of being sustainable. It’s easier to maintain, andcan still be hugely impactful as we’re about to explortful.
5 Core Reasons Why You Should Consider Becoming a Reducetarian:
Americans currently eat 1.5 times more meat per day than dietary guidelines recommend. Just reducing consumption to normal levels can have a significant impact. Here are the five main reasons why:
1. Animal Welfare
When most of us think about where our beef, chicken or pork came from, we probably picture an Old MacDonald farm with animals roaming in a field. The reality is quite different. The vast majority of meat sold and eaten in the US is the result of factory farming. Most of the chicken we consume comes from mega factory farms, where a single indoor farm raises more than half a million chickens per year in packed and ultimately very cruel conditions.
The high concentration of birds in these facilities has led to numerous avian flu crises in the last few years and normalized the horrific mass-killing method of cutting ventilation to exposed birds and leaving them to die of heat stroke. Investigations into pork farming practices have revealed similarly gut-churning atrocities, and certainly, the cattle industry is no better off.
As soon as humans industrialized meat farming on a grand scale, we did so at the cost of animal welfare. Now, most animals are boosted with growth hormones and antibiotics just to stay alive long enough to be slaughtered, and the pressure that’s defining it all? The increase in meat demand. That’s right. The rate at which we buy meat directly correlates with the industry’s growth, which is why simply buying and consuming less of it is a way to curb some of its worst practices.
2. Climate Change
The meat industry contributes negatively to climate change in two main ways. Let’s break it down:
- Emitting Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Food systems are responsible for at least a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and meat farming always comes out worst. Even organic meat production is still eight times more damaging to climate change than the most intensive plant-farmed foods (seed oils). The biggest contributor to the problem is methane gas produced by sheep and cattle. It may seem somewhat unbelievable that burping cows could pose a substantial risk to our planet’s health, but considering that there are roughly 1.5 million domesticated cows, the numbers make a little more sense.
- Destroying Carbon Sinks: The negative impact that the meat industry has on climate change isn’t just that it creates high emissions but that it also destroys wild areas that would otherwise act as carbon sinks. We’ve hit a point now where the demand for meat is considered the leading cause of deforestation. Industrialized farming uses enormous amounts of land, especially with livestock like cattle that require grazing. It’s how cattle ranching has accounted for 80% of the current deforestation in the Amazon. This is hugely distressing when we consider that the Amazon rainforest is also known as the “earth’s lungs” for the role it has traditionally played in absorbing about a quarter of the earth’s carbon.
The issue that arises again isn’t simply that we eat meat but that the demand is so high that it fuels massive farming efforts that go far beyond what our planet can withstand. That’s why simply cutting back can have such a positive impact. The less we consume, the more we can lower demand and reduce the damage this industry is doing to our planet.
3. Wildlife Preservation
The significant use of land that the ever-expanding meat industry requires has also been a massive issue for wildlife preservation:
- Eco-System Destruction: Every time another forest is destroyed to create grazing space, whole ecosystems fall apart, and we lose even more of our planet’s wild beauty. Livestock grazing can also cause soil erosion and several other issues that lower the quality of our soils in the long term and make it difficult for wildlife to survive.
- Threatens Biodiversity: Wild animals suffer habitat loss from the meat industry, and grass-eating species such as elk and deer have had their populations greatly reduced, resulting in less competition for cattle grazing. Meat farming has also created huge roadblocks in front of programs meant to increase biodiversity and recover endangered species, such as the Mexican gray wolf in New Mexico and Arizona. The impact of all of this is far less biodiversity.
- Pollution Issues: What further contributes to the problem is the rampant pollution that goes hand-in-hand with large, industrialized meat farming. The fertilizers used on grazing fields and runoff animal waste have been linked to water pollution issues and the creation of “dead zones”.
It’s not just livestock farms themselves that are part of the problem though. Around half the grain that is farmed in the US is used as livestock feed and has its own set of environmental impacts in terms of fertilizer runoff, soil pollution, etc. Eating less meat is one of the most effective ways to force this industry and all its counterparts to slow down and start reducing their impact.
4. Health Benefits
The health implications of meat consumption are significant enough that the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future has an entire page dedicated to the issue. Not only is a diet high in meat linked to increased risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and earlier death, but reducing meat intake in favor of more whole vegetables and grains actively promotes better health.
There are also concerns about the impact that the antibiotics, growth promoters, and other medicines that are so common in meat production may be having on human health. A reducetarian diet lowers your exposure to these veterinary medicines and ultimately sets you up for less risk of disease or overall health issues.
5. Global Food Availability
As climate change ramps up, we’re seeing major global weather shifts. Every year, countries hit new temperature highs and grapple with more droughts, flooding, and general environmental stress. This makes it harder to grow crops and is likely to exacerbate the global food insecurity we’re already seeing. Eating less meat lowers carbon emissions, which in turn helps stabilize climate change and its impact on agriculture.
Another issue with the industry is that, as we mentioned, it uses a large portion of global crops for livestock feed. This again places more strain on global food availability and drives home why reducing meat intake is so beneficial, not just for personal well-being but also for better care of our planet and everyone on it.
The Overall Impact of Eating Less Meat
Even if the only thing that Americans did was replace a third of their beef intake with pork, poultry, or legumes, their food-related emissions would drop by 13%. If everyone in America lessened how much meat they ate by a quarter, it would free up 23 million acres of land (the size of ths state of Indiana) and save 330 million metric tons of greenhouse gas.
What we put on our plates matters. A UK study showed that a low-meat diet of just 50g of meat per day has half the impact of high-meat diets in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water pollution. Considering that most Americans consume about 100 to 150g of meat daily, halving your intake can genuinely halve the negative impact.
That’s hugely powerful, especially when you consider the ripple effects of reducing the meat industry’s impact long term. It’s why many have argued that eating less meat in favor of a plant-rich diet can reduce more greenhouse emissions than if you were to install solar panels on your house and switch to an electric vehicle.
What to Watch Out for When Reducing the Meat in Your Diet
Reducing meat in your diet doesn’t have to mean less protein, iron, zinc, B12, or any of the other nutrients you’d usually get from it. Here’s how:
- Check Your Protein: The recommended daily allowance for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight, but this allowance needs to be adjusted based on age and activity levels. Either way, reducing your meat intake simply requires shifting focus to more plant-based proteins such as legumes, nuts, and whole grains. Here’s a great guide on this from The New York Times
- Up Your Plants: Many of the nutrients we get from meat, such as iron and zinc, are available in plant-based foods such as spinach, peas, broccoli, legumes, etc. That’s why it’s so important that as you lower your meat intake, you increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet. You can even get plant-based B12 from certain types of algae products.
- Check-In with a Doctor: Athletes, pregnant people, and anyone with health issues can all benefit from speaking to a medical professional if they’re altering their diet. A doctor can help you track if any deficiencies arise and give you tips on how to reduce meat in a way that suits your particular lifestyle and health needs.
Less Meat for More Good
By simply eating less meat, you can help reduce the need for factory farming, slow the meat industry’s impact on global warming and biodiversity, and even improve your health. You don’t need to commit to an entirely vegetarian or vegan lifestyle to make a difference. There is so much power in simply cutting back. Every bit helps create a better, kinder future for our planet.
