Sustainability benefits of transitioning from current diets to plant-based alternatives or whole-food diets in Sweden

This study investigates the environmental, nutritional, and economic implications of replacing animal-source foods (ASFs) with plant-based alternatives (PBAs) or whole foods (WFs) in the Swedish diet. Using vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian scenarios based on PBAs or WFs, the results show that PBA-rich diets significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions (30–52%), land use (20–45%), and freshwater use (14–27%), with vegan diets exhibiting the highest reduction potential. WF replacements offer comparable environmental benefits. While PBA scenarios mostly meet nutritional recommendations, some micronutrient deficiencies are observed. Daily food expenditure slightly increases in PBA scenarios (3–5%) and decreases in WF scenarios (4–17%), with PBA diets being more expensive than WF diets. The study recommends prioritizing ASF reduction and diversifying WFs and healthier PBAs.

Anne Charlotte Bunge, Rachel Mazac, Michael Clark, Amanda Wood, Line Gordon