Researchers found that Mediterranean and vegan diets cut diet-related GHG emissions by about 20% and 57%, respectively. The vegan diet slashed the energy demand of the food system by 55%, whereas the Mediterranean diet barely moved food-related energy demand at all.
These findings were discovered by accident by metabolism researchers running clinical trials focused on insulin sensitivity, weight, cholesterol, and blood sugar. What struck the researchers the most was the immediacy of the benefits of making dietary changes, both in terms of human health and climate impact, which stands in stark contrast to many other climate actions that require collective action over a long period of time.
As one researcher explained, “My trials kept showing me that food is one of the rare places where the ledger balances immediately, in the same body, in the same season. The changes that lowered participants’ carbon footprint also lowered their insulin needs, their weight, and their cardiovascular risk. … The benefit to the planet and the benefit to the body weren’t competing for the same scarce willpower — they were the same act, seen from two angles, landing on the same afternoon.”
Source: “Climate Policy Has a Sacrifice Problem. My Clinical Trials Kept Solving It by Accident.“(The Revelator, Sept. 25, 2026).
Learn how to reduce your environmental footprint through plant-based eating by visiting the Plant-Based Eating page on Green Newton’s website or connecting with a volunteer Plant-Based Eating Coach.