Healthy planet eating

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Key findings

Over the last 50 years the quantity of meat produced around the world has quadrupled while the global population has doubled.
We could prevent 45,000 early deaths and save the NHS £1.2 billion each year if we switched to diets that contain less meat in the UK.
Lower-meat diets could cut deaths from heart disease by 31,000, deaths from cancer by 9,000 and deaths from strokes by 5,000 each year.
There is clear evidence of a link between high-meat diets and a higher incidence of bowel cancer and heart disease, with some evidence of a link between high-meat diets and other cancers, diabetes and obesity.
Processed meat is more damaging to health than unprocessed meats.
Grass-fed beef has nutritional advantages over grain-fed options.
The nutritional value of some meat has decreased as a result of modern farming methods. A standard supermarket chicken now contains significantly less protein and more than twice as much fat as in 1970.

Meat and dairy p...