A recent study from The Netherlands has concluded that one hundred billion tons of carbon dioxide could be removed from the air by the end of the century solely by adopting a vegetarian/vegan diet and by the re-wilding of farmland.

This staggering statistic is due in large part to the fact that one quarter of all global greenhouse emissions come from food and agriculture, with livestock accounting for the vast majority. 

The report focused specifically on the power that wealthier nations have to promote plant-based diets ,which will not only drastically cut emissions but also would save large amounts of farmland which would then be used to sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

What is important to note is that this report isn’t based on a complete shift away from animal protein. “The researchers estimated the effect of a shift to a diet with a bit of meat but a lot of veg,” per a recent BBC article, so these figures are not based on an overly optimistic assumption that everyone on the planet will completely stop eating meat by the end of the century. In other words, this is possible and look at the planetary benefits that would result.

Lead researcher Dr. Paul Behrens of Leiden University who led the research sums up by stating, “Another way to think about it is you could roughly double the emissions that you save by following a plant-based diet if the land was allowed to re-wild or re-forest.”

We at Asanté have always applauded the multitude of plant-based products that are hitting the market every day but we also understand the need for a wide variety of vegan foods in order to entice more consumers away from animal protein. 

Our Asanté products fill that need, not with chik’n nuggets or plant-based burgers, but rather with authentic Mexican favorites such as Barbacoa, Cochinita Pibil, Pastor and Filet Asada. It’s our belief that the greater the choice, the greater the acceptance of a vegan diet.