Reduction in land area devoted to agriculture from a hypothetical universal vegan diet in Canada

Abstract

This paper estimates the savings in agricultural land area that would occur in Canada if all domestically-produced and consumed animal food products (AFPs) and fish were replaced with domestically-produced high-protein plant food products (PFPs), accompanied by increases in consumption of domestically-produced fruits and vegetables along with reductions in vegetable oils and sweeteners in such a way as to maintain the same protein intake with slightly reduced metabolizable energy intake. Account is taken of losses along both the AFP and PFP chains and differences in the average protein yield (kg protein/hectare) of the food crops and silage supplied as animal feed and the food crops that replace AFPs. For a diet scenario with elimination of all AFPs and a tripling in average per capita consumption of domestic fruit and vegetables, 20% and 50% decreases in consumption of vegetable oils and sweeteners, respectively, an 83% increase in domestic cereal consumption along with a 6-fold increase in domestic legume consumption so as to produce the recommended 2:1 cereal:legume consumption ratio, fat consumption decreases by 45%, fiber consumption at least doubles, and protein and energy intake are essentially unchanged, while the land area devoted to food crops in Canada decreases by 26% and the total (crop + pasture) land requirement decreases by about 80%. If this dietary shift were accompanied by a one-half to two-thirds decrease in retail + consumer food waste (depending on the food), these savings are 37% and 84%, respectively.