These days, it’s hard not to open a magazine or turn on the TV without hearing about climate change. At The Paleo Diet®, the impact that food production has on carbon emissions is of utmost importance—particularly given the significant climatic changes that face humanity. The fact is, even if some of the causes of climate change are beyond our control, humanity should do everything it can to contribute to the solution, instead of the problem.
When it comes to food’s impact, many pundits speak with an authoritative tone demanding that plant-based diets are not only best for your health, but also better for the environment. This is true of the lay literature and also in published scientific journals. [1,2]
To the first point, we have written extensively on the topic of optimal nutrition, and we are very confident in the position that a Paleolithic diet is far better for human health than any diet that completely eliminates animal-sourced foods. (See also Nutritional Disasters Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Battle of the Proteins.)
However, the question of whether we should or need to remove animal foods from our diet and focus on eating plant-only diets for the betterment of the environment is up for debate and warrants scrutiny.
Continue reading Doc Smith’s article on thepaleodiet.com. This article excerpt used with permission of The Paleo Diet, LLC.