Modest changes to meat and dairy consumption could help Scotland meet its climate targets while improving public health and nutrition, according to new research. A modelling study found that replacing some processed and unprocessed meat and dairy products with vegetables, beans and eggs could deliver significant environmental and health benefits without increasing the overall cost of diets. The findings suggest that relatively small and realistic changes to everyday eating habits could contribute to both climate and public health goals.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh assessed 33 different approaches to meeting the UK Climate Change Committee’s recommendations for more sustainable diets. Researchers examined how dietary changes could affect greenhouse gas emissions, land and water use, nutrient intake and food costs, as well as the risk of health conditions including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Across every scenario modelled, reductions in meat and dairy consumption were linked to improvements in health outcomes and environmental indicators.
The study found that even small, gram-for-gram substitutions in familiar meals, including sandwiches and pasta dishes, could produce meaningful long-term benefits when adopted across the population. Replacing some meat with a variety of alternative foods did not negatively affect overall nutrient intake. Lower dairy consumption could, however, considerably reduce iodine intake among some groups. Researchers said this potential nutritional gap could be addressed by fortifying plant-based dairy alternatives with iodine, highlighting the importance of considering nutrition when encouraging dietary change.
The findings also challenge the perception that eating more sustainably is necessarily more expensive. Most of the dietary changes assessed had little effect on overall food costs, suggesting that lower-emission diets do not have to place additional financial pressure on households. Researchers say making healthier and more sustainable options easier to find, more convenient and more accessible could help people adopt dietary changes without requiring major changes to their lifestyles or spending.
Targeting people who consume the largest quantities of processed and unprocessed red meat could deliver particularly substantial benefits, the study suggests. Rather than asking everyone to reduce meat consumption by the same amount, helping the highest consumers move towards lower intakes could produce greater health and environmental gains. The modelling predicted that this targeted approach could prevent almost 60,000 cases of type 2 diabetes over 10 years while also achieving larger reductions in environmental impacts. All 33 dietary pathways modelled resulted in lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduced land and water use.
The research also found that emissions linked to food consumed by adults in Scotland, including the carbon footprint of imported products, exceed emissions from agricultural production within Scotland itself. The findings underline the importance of changing food consumption alongside efforts to reduce emissions from farming. “The findings show that modest, realistic dietary changes, when scaled across a population, can deliver substantial benefits to people and the planet,” said Dr Joe Kennedy, from the University of Edinburgh’s Division of Global Agriculture and Food Systems. “Making healthier, sustainable options more available and convenient will be key to enabling such change.”
More information: Joe Kennedy et al, Reduced meat and dairy consumption improves health, environmental and most nutritional outcomes without increasing diet costs among Scottish adults, Nature Food. DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01384-3
Journal information: Nature Food Provided by University of Edinburgh
