title: Climate change mitigation and health effects of varied dietary patterns in real-life settings throughout North America.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) are a major consequence of our dietary choices. Assessments of plant-based compared with meat-based diets are emerging at the intersection of public health, environment, and nutrition.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective was to compare the GHGEs associated with dietary patterns consumed in a large population across North America and to independently assess mortality according to dietary patterns in the same population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the Adventist Health Study 2 (AHS-2) were used to characterize the differential environmental and health impacts of the following 3 dietary patterns, which varied in the quantity of animal and plant foods: vegetarian, semivegetarian, and nonvegetarian. The GHGE intensities of 210 foods were calculated through life-cycle assessments and by using published data. The all-cause mortality rates and all-cause mortality HRs for the AHS-2 subjects were adjusted for a range of lifestyle and sociodemographic factors and estimated according to dietary pattern.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With the use of the nonvegetarian diet as a reference, the mean reductions in GHGEs for semivegetarian and vegetarian diets were 22% and 29%, respectively. The mortality rates for nonvegetarians, semivegetarians, and vegetarians were 6.66, 5.53, and 5.56 deaths per 1000 person-years, respectively. The differences were significant. Compared with nonvegetarians, mortality HRs were lower for semivegetarians (0.86) and vegetarians (0.91).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Moderate differences in the caloric intake of meat products provided nontrivial reductions in GHGEs and improved health outcomes, as shown through the mortality analyses. However, this does not mean that diets lower in GHGEs are healthy.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Environmental Health and Geoinformatics Sciences (SS), the Office of Public Health Practice (SS, KJ-S, and JS), the Department of Nutrition (AM, KJ-S, HH, and JS), and the Center for Health Research (MB), School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soret
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Environmental Health and Geoinformatics Sciences (SS), the Office of Public Health Practice (SS, KJ-S, and JS), the Department of Nutrition (AM, KJ-S, HH, and JS), and the Center for Health Research (MB), School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mejia
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Environmental Health and Geoinformatics Sciences (SS), the Office of Public Health Practice (SS, KJ-S, and JS), the Department of Nutrition (AM, KJ-S, HH, and JS), and the Center for Health Research (MB), School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Batech
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Environmental Health and Geoinformatics Sciences (SS), the Office of Public Health Practice (SS, KJ-S, and JS), the Department of Nutrition (AM, KJ-S, HH, and JS), and the Center for Health Research (MB), School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jaceldo-Siegl
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Environmental Health and Geoinformatics Sciences (SS), the Office of Public Health Practice (SS, KJ-S, and JS), the Department of Nutrition (AM, KJ-S, HH, and JS), and the Center for Health Research (MB), School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Harwatt
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Environmental Health and Geoinformatics Sciences (SS), the Office of Public Health Practice (SS, KJ-S, and JS), the Department of Nutrition (AM, KJ-S, HH, and JS), and the Center for Health Research (MB), School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sabaté
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002980:Climate; D004032:Diet; D014676:Diet, Vegetarian; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D057232:Global Warming; D017752:Greenhouse Effect; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D009656:North America