Want to Live Longer and Fight Climate Change? Eat More Plants

The case for plants keeps getting stronger and stronger, as leading health experts and organizations recognize the benefits of shifting toward a more plant-based way of eating. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Institute of Cancer Research and major health care organizations like Kaiser Permanente have all weighed in, favoring more plant-based eating. And as the impact of climate change becomes increasingly a daily reality, environmental experts also urge that we eat more plants and fewer animal foods in order to use our land and water resources more sustainably.

A huge landmark in this effort came in January 2019, when EAT-Lancet, a consortium of international researchers, released a report recommending a "Great Food Transformation" to achieve an environmentally sustainable, healthy diet for the world's population by 2050. The key recommendation: cutting the consumption of animal foods as much as possible (by at least half) and doubling our intake of plant foods (vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts). By making these changes, they argued, some 11 million deaths could be averted. While critics challenged the report for being impractical, the gauntlet it threw into food policy discussions has had a powerful impact.

Americans are getting the message. According to a January 2023 report, 68 percent of Americans have tried a plant-based meat or dairy alternative. The food industry is on the case too, providing us with ever more choices. According to research firm Mintel, the number of new plant-based food items introduced in supermarkets grew a whopping 268 percent between 2012 and 2018. Just about any animal-based product is now available in a plant-based version; nut "milks" and faux cheeses take up major space in dairy cases (ironically), and vegetarian items fill the prepared-foods and freezer sections. Restaurants are also getting into the act, adding more meatless and vegan items to their menus—from fast-food meatless burgers to vegetarian tasting menus at upscale restaurants.

And let's face it, plant-focused diets have become, well, really cool. Today they're embraced by celebrities of every stripe, from Beyoncé and Billie Eilish to Woody Harrelson and Tom Brady.

But what do we mean when we talk about plant-based eating? Luckily, the boundaries are wide enough to accommodate many approaches. Some 16 million of us in the United States are vegetarians who eat no meat, fish or poultry but include eggs and dairy products. Another 1 million or so are vegan, eating only plant-based foods and avoiding animal products completely.

And then there is the "flexitarian," or "semi-vegetarian," eating pattern, which occupies a happy middle ground: eating the vegetarian way on most days, but having meat or fish occasionally. While estimates vary, about one third of us are likely eating this way already. Many have flocked to the idea of going meatless at least one day a week; witness the success of the worldwide Meatless Monday campaign in institutions and homes all over the world.

There's a lot to recommend in the flexitarian approach, which many of us might find easier to adopt than going full-on vegetarian or vegan. Compared with other Americans, flexitarians are more likely to get the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables and fiber—and reap more health benefits, like a healthy body weight and a lower risk of diabetes and high blood pressure.

Coincidentally, a flexitarian diet also is similar to what dietitians, nutrition researchers and public health advocates have been recommending for years. Consider the latest U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report (2020): "Common characteristics of dietary patterns associated with positive health outcomes include higher intake of vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, low- or nonfat dairy, lean meat and poultry, seafood, nuts, and unsaturated vegetable oils and low consumption of red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened foods and drinks, and refined grains."

In truth, though, wherever you fall (or aim to fall) on the plant-forward eating spectrum, committing to putting more plants on your plate is a win for your health. A plant-forward diet has been linked to a lower risk of such diet-related conditions as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. What's more, plant-rich eating patterns are associated with positives—like a longer life span and better mental functioning.

These healthy links aren't surprising when you consider that many plants are nutritional powerhouses. Eating more helps you get more of the nutrients Americans often get too little of, such as folate, calcium, magnesium, potassium and vitamins A, C and E. Plant-based diets can also provide plenty of good-quality protein—an important factor to note in our current protein-obsessed era. Vegetarians used to be counseled to combine plant-based protein sources such as rice and beans in their meals to get a full complement of protein. But today nutrition experts say that's no longer a concern; by getting a variety of foods throughout the day, you'll easily meet your protein needs.

While eating a plant-forward diet seems trendy, it's really just retro: people have been eating this way—with relish—for millennia. Think of the traditional eating patterns of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, where meals are built around whole grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and healthy oils and, occasionally, eggs, cheese and seafood—and only small amounts of meat. Study after study has shown that this Mediterranean diet pattern is one of the world's healthiest, associated with lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and even Alzheimer's disease.

Likewise, traditional diets throughout the countries of Asia vary widely, but they have several common, and health-giving, threads. From India to Japan to China to Indonesia, daily meals are built around rice and an abundance of vegetables, legumes, soy foods, whole grains, fish, herbs and spices. Dairy foods tend to be fermented, adding gut-friendly probiotics to the menu. Vegetarian diets are widely practiced, many grounded in religious practices, and meat, if eaten at all, tends to be a small component of a dish (think of the flavorful nuggets of lamb enhancing the rice in an Indian biryani).

Traditional African food ways branch in several directions but also have plant foods at their core. Vegetables, particularly leafy greens, are staples—along with tubers like cassava and sweet potatoes, whole grains and legumes, fruits, nuts and seeds. Fish, poultry and meat—such as a Moroccan beef-and-carrot tagine served on couscous—are also savored in small amounts.

And Latin culinary traditions, emanating from diverse regions such as Mexico, South America, Cuba and Puerto Rico, are also largely built around plant-based foods. Corn, beans, rice, whole grains and tubers such as cassava and yams are daily staples, along with chiles, pumpkin, tomatoes, avocados and tropical fruits. Because there's such delicious produce to cook with, meat doesn't need to play a starring role. Just dig into a Brazilian feijoada, a hearty black-bean stew flavored with pork, and you'll get the picture.

Compared with other Americans, flexitarians are more likely to get the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables and fiber.

One last, powerful argument in the eat-more-plants camp: it can have tremendous benefits for the environment. Since much of the country's meat and poultry requires lots of land and water resources and has a sizable carbon footprint, replacing meats with a plant-based alternative just once a week—say, having rice and beans for dinner, Meatless Monday style—can have a significant impact. This would also mean less animal waste, plus fewer antibiotics used in the food supply, since many animals raised on industrial-scale farms are routinely fed antibiotics.

So whether you call yourself vegetarian, flexitarian or "plant-positive," making the commitment to more plants on your plate is a doable, delicious shift—and it's never been easier.

The following story is excerpted from EatingWell's special edition, The Power of Plant-Based, which is available at Amazon.