Summary
Analysis of broader animal-based, plant-based, and lacto-ovo vegetarian diets, as well as at the level of individual food products, including various vegetables, fruits, eggs, poultry, and ruminant meat. An animal based diet, and more specifically ruminant meat, causes the highest greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) per kg of food produced. When the environmental and social impacts (e.g., medical disorders, sea level rise) of the GHG emission are monetized, animal-based products cause the highest costs (2.41€/kg product) while plant-based products are the lowest (e.g.0.04€/kg product). Strengths of the study include specialized data coming from GEMIS, the Global Emission Model for Integrated Systems, as well as a comprehensive approach of calculating GHG emissions from farm to table. The implication of these findings is that animal-based diets, with an emphasis on ruminant meat, are not only the most environmentally detrimental, but the costliest as well. A limitation of the study is this framework itself, as framing this as an economic problem can skew priorities that shape action. To continue consuming animal products at the current rate, environmental and social impacts must be reflected in consumer prices of food products.
Although the agricultural sector is globally a main emitter of greenhouse gases, thorough economic analysis of environmental and social externalities has not yet been conducted. Available research assessing agricultural external costs lacks a differentiation between farming systems and food categories. A method addressing this scientific gap is established in this paper and applied in the context of Germany. Using life-cycle assessment and meta-analytical approaches, we calculate the external climate costs of foodstuff. Results show that external greenhouse gas costs are highest for conventional and organic animal-based products (2.41€/kg product; 146% and 71% surcharge on producer price level), followed by conventional dairy products (0.24€/kg product; 91% surcharge) and lowest for organic plant-based products (0.02€/kg product; 6% surcharge). The large difference of relative external climate costs between food categories as well as the absolute external climate costs of the agricultural sector imply the urgency for policy measures that close the gap between current market prices and the true costs of food.