Shift to plant-based food more cost-effective than green energy, EVs: study

A food system more focused on consumption of plant-based foods than meat is far cheaper and more impactful in reducing emissions compared to investing in other climate initiatives, such as renewable energy and electric cars, according to research by a new philanthropic movement. The Tilt Collective, which officially launched Tuesday at Climate Week NYC, is a grantmaker and nonprofit that supports the “de-centering of livestock from the food system” as a means to make it more sustainable, healthy, and affordable for both humans and the planet. Formerly known as PlantWorks during its startup phase, the Tilt Collective pulls funds from other foundations to provide grants for six initial countries. Its latest research, produced in collaboration with sustainability advisory firm Systemiq, highlights the underfunding of the plant-based food industry given its outsized impact on mitigating the worst effects of climate change. “We know that the current industrial livestock system is causing an interlocking set of crises and that we have the opportunity to transition to more plant-rich options that help meet climate, health, animal, and nature goals,” Tilt Collective’s CEO Sarah Lake told Devex at the launch event in New York’s Carnegie Hall. “This is the only option we have. We cannot continue with the status quo.” The research found that it would cost $160 billion incrementally per year to deliver a food system less reliant on meat and more compatible with a 1.5 degrees Celsius world — the global warming limit laid out in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. This is significantly cheaper than funding a transition to electric vehicles at $185 billion annually, or to clean energy at $1.4 trillion per year. Investing in a plant-rich food system has an annual average return on investment of 28 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent mitigated per a billion dollars — five times the investment in renewables and four times the investment in EVs for greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, investments in plant-rich food consumption and production yield 2.5 times the average carbon emissions reductions per dollar invested than improvements in livestock and crop production, the study found. Livestock is one of the world’s biggest emitters of methane and also contributes to water and land shortages. Meanwhile, extreme heat as a result of global warming raises concerns for animal welfare. Yet cattle, sheep, pigs, and other animals are a source of food security and income for millions of people worldwide. It’s that complexity that has prevented the issue from garnering the same attention and investment as renewable energy as a climate change solution, said Gonzalo Muñoz, a farmer and the United Nations high-level climate action champion for the COP 25 climate summit in 2019, explaining that what people eat is tied to religion and culture. By framing the shift to plant-based diets in terms of return on investment, Tilt Collective is trying to appeal to the private sector and governments. “Our approach is one that acknowledges we will not achieve this success by pleading with people to eat differently. We've tried that, and it hasn't gotten us very far,” Lake said. “Instead, we must … drive companies and governments to offer and incentivize healthy and sustainable options.”