Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026
09:10
Palatable Western-style Cafeteria Diet as a Reliable Method for Modeling Diet-induced Obesity in Rodents
Published on: November 1, 2019
Diet and the environment: does what you eat matter?
Harold J Marlow1, William K Hayes, Samuel Soret
1Departments of Environmental Health and Nutrition, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA. hmarlow@llu.edu
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|April 3, 2009
Summary
Choosing a vegetarian diet significantly reduces environmental impact compared to a nonvegetarian diet. This study found vegetarian diets require less water, energy, fertilizer, and pesticides, especially when beef consumption is reduced.
Area of Science:
- Agricultural Science
- Environmental Science
- Nutrition Science
Background:
- Modern agriculture's environmental toll includes pollution, soil erosion, and biodiversity loss.
- Food demand directly influences agricultural practices and their environmental consequences.
- Dietary choices have a measurable impact on agricultural resource utilization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the environmental footprint of vegetarian and nonvegetarian diets in California.
- To quantify differences in agricultural inputs (water, energy, pesticides, fertilizers) between diets.
- To assess the environmental effect associated with dietary preferences in food production.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Adventist Health Study to quantify dietary patterns.
- Collected California state agricultural data for commodity production.
- Calculated environmental inputs based on consumption patterns and production statistics.
Main Results:
- Nonvegetarian diets required 2.9x more water, 2.5x more primary energy, 13x more fertilizer, and 1.4x more pesticides than vegetarian diets.
- Beef consumption was a major contributor to the increased environmental impact of nonvegetarian diets.
- Significant differences in resource use were observed for 11 key food items.
Conclusions:
- Nonvegetarian diets impose a substantially higher environmental cost than vegetarian diets.
- Individual dietary choices significantly influence the environmental impact of food production.
- Shifting towards plant-based diets can mitigate agricultural environmental degradation.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Dimensions of Health and Illness
The factors influencing the health-illness continuum can be internal or external and may or may not be under conscious control. They are related to the following eight human dimensions, and each dimension is interrelated to one other.
01:20Gene-Environment Interactions
Gene expression is a dynamic process that is significantly influenced by environmental factors. This interaction underlies the complex nature of biological development and the phenotypic differences observed among individuals, even among those with identical genetic makeups. Factors such as radiation, temperature, behavior, nutrition, and stress play pivotal roles in determining how genes are expressed. The concept of the reaction range is central to understanding this interaction. It posits...
02:27Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
01:28Causes of Social Behavior III: Biological and Environmental Influences
Social behavior is a complex phenomenon that arises from the interaction between biological predispositions and environmental influences. This intricate interplay shapes how individuals think, feel, and act in various social contexts. Understanding these mechanisms requires insights from psychology, neuroscience, genetics, and evolutionary theory.Environmental Influences on Social BehaviorEnvironmental factors, including temperature, odors, and visual stimuli, play a crucial role in shaping...
01:29Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Despite the strong genetic influence on traits like intelligence, environmental factors significantly shape outcomes. For example, while over 90% of height variation is due to genetic differences, environmental factors such as nutrition also have a notable impact. Similarly, for intelligence, changes in a child's surroundings can significantly alter their IQ. Research shows that enriched environments boost children's academic success and help them develop key cognitive skills. Children from...
01:10Nature and Nurture
Many human characteristics, like height, are shaped by both nature—in other words, by our genes—and by nurture, or our environment. For example, chronic stress during childhood inhibits the production of growth hormones and consequently reduces bone growth and height. Scientists estimate that 70-90% of variation in height is due to genetic differences among individuals, and 10-30% of variation in height is due to differences in the environments that individuals experience, such as differences...