New report shows the need to increase the production and consumption of vegetable protein protein.
Last July 28 we started living in an ecological deficit, which means that we started spending resources that should not be used until the beginning of next year. The situation is serious and all solutions should be studied. With that in mind, Associação Vegetariana Portuguesa (AVP), in partnership with environmental association ZERO, LeguCon project, and Food4Sustainability collaborative lab, launched the Green Protein project.
This is an initiative whose objective is to disseminate data on the intensive production of animal protein and its negative impact on the environment, comparing it with vegetable alternatives, and promoting the transition from the former to the latter, presenting solutions that reduce the ecological footprint and mitigate the global impact of climate change.
In Portugal, food consumption represents almost double the ecological footprint compared to the transport and mobility sector. This food system, based on the agricultural and livestock industry, combined with global consumption habits, exploits the planet’s natural resources’ regeneration capacity, including its waste absorption capacity, beyond the limit. Pedro Ribeiro, a member of Associação Vegetariana Portuguesa, who is also part of this project, remembers that climate change represents the most serious crisis for human beings in the last 75 years.
While all types of food production exert environmental pressures, the current format is the most damaging, being inefficient in terms of resource consumption and space versus its profitability.
In this report we can see that although 83% of the entire agricultural surface of the planet is occupied by industries related to farming, these contribute only 18% to the caloric needs of the population and about 37% to the protein needs. The study also compares meat and bean production, with the former contributing 80 times more greenhouse gas emissions than the latter.
According to data from 2020, our vegetable consumption should be around 23%, but we consume about 14%. In the case of animal protein consumption, it should be around 5%, but we consume about 17%.
Increased consumption of vegetable protein is a necessity that will have a major impact on public health, by making the diet healthier, and closer to the original Mediterranean diet, and by contributing to climate neutrality by reducing deforestation, and the pressures on all resources needed for animal production. But, according to Pedro Horta, from the environmental association ZERO, this ecological transition will also allow for a fairer and more inclusive food system.
This report proposes 15 recommendations to the Portuguese government, which aim is to question what the current practice is, raising the debate and proposing fundamental changes.
You can read it online for free at http://avp.org.pt/proteinaverde.
Liliana is from Lisbon with roots in Lamego and wherever she goes. She always had a greater love for Nature, and that's why she considers it's so important to preserve it. That's where her urgency for sustainability comes from. She is willing to share everything she's learned over the years with as many people as possible.
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