Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Nat Commun. 2023 Oct 6;14(1):6227. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41789-3.
Air pollution increases cardiovascular and respiratory-disease risk, and reduces cognitive and physical performance. Food production, especially of animal products, is a major source of methane and ammonia emissions which contribute to air pollution through the formation of particulate matter and ground-level ozone. Here we show that dietary changes towards more plant-based flexitarian, vegetarian, and vegan diets could lead to meaningful reductions in air pollution with health and economic benefits. Using systems models, we estimated reductions in premature mortality of 108,000-236,000 (3-6%) globally, including 20,000-44,000 (9-21%) in Europe, 14,000-21,000 (12-18%) in North America, and 49,000-121,000 (4-10%) in Eastern Asia. We also estimated greater productivity, increasing economic output by USD 0.6-1.3 trillion (0.5-1.1%). Our findings suggest that incentivising dietary changes towards more plant-based diets could be a valuable mitigation strategy for reducing ambient air pollution and the associated health and economic impacts, especially in regions with intensive agriculture and high population density.
空气污染增加了心血管和呼吸道疾病的风险，并降低了认知和身体机能。食品生产，尤其是动物产品的生产，是甲烷和氨气排放的主要来源，这些排放物通过形成颗粒物和地面臭氧对空气污染做出贡献。在这里，我们表明，向更偏向植物性的杂食、素食和纯素食饮食的饮食转变，可以显著减少空气污染，带来健康和经济效益。我们使用系统模型估计，全球范围内过早死亡人数将减少 10.8 万至 23.6 万（3%至 6%），其中欧洲将减少 2 万至 4.4 万（9%至 21%），北美将减少 1.4 万至 2.1 万（12%至 18%），东亚将减少 4.9 万至 12.1 万（4%至 10%）。我们还估计生产力会提高，经济产出将增加 6000 亿至 1.3 万亿美元（5%至 11%）。我们的研究结果表明，鼓励向更偏向植物性饮食的饮食转变可能是减少环境空气污染及其相关健康和经济影响的一个有价值的缓解策略，特别是在农业密集型和人口密度高的地区。
