Curbing emissions from agriculture, and especially from livestock production, is essential in order to fulfil the Paris Agreement. Shifting to a diet lower in meat consumption has been emphasized in several studies. Based on the Planetary Health Diet developed by the EAT-Lancet Commission, this study investigates the effect on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions of transitioning the Danish agricultural system, which currently relies mainly on meat and dairy production, towards increased focus on plant-based foods, combined with replacement or reduction of imported feed and carbon sequestration on previous agricultural land. The study finds a large potential for reducing emissions from Danish agriculture through implementation of the Planetary Health Diet, with reductions of up to 20.2 Mt CO₂e (CO₂ equivalents) (86.5%) under the most ambitious conditions. This demonstrates the potentially large benefits from transitioning towards a more plant-based European agricultural sector and underscores the need for European and national policies incentivizing this transition.

The food system is responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, with the majority originating from livestock. Reducing our meat consumption is thus an important part of achieving necessary reductions in emissions, and reaching children is especially important to facilitate long-lasting changes in dietary habits now and into the future. This study developed dietary scenarios for three public schools in Copenhagen, which were used as cases to demonstrate reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from public kitchens. The scenarios included (i) replacement of all beef with poultry, (ii) replacement of all meat and fish with legumes, and (iii) alignment of food procurement to the Danish Food Based Dietary Guidelines based on the Planetary Health Diet. The effects on emissions were calculated using three different LCA databases. The results showed reductions ranging from 32 to 64% depending on the scenario, the current meal plan at the case school, and the emission factors used. Not surprisingly, the vegetarian scenario resulted in the highest reductions and replacing beef resulted in the lowest. Adhering to the national guidelines will result in reductions in emissions of 39–48%. Significant variability in the results existed between the three databases, highlighting the importance of basic understanding of LCA for kitchens interested in estimating and reducing their carbon footprint while at the same time providing justification for applying multiple LCA databases for increasing robustness.

The authors have made the following corrections about the published paper