Meat consumption needs to be reduced to just 7g a day in order to save the planet and reduce premature deaths, according to experts.

To protect the well-being of future generations, there needs to be a drastic reduction in the consumption of meat, poultry and eggs, the EAT-Lancet Commission says.

The average supermarket sausage weighs around 66g, so one bite would use up your daily recommended allowance.

Alternatively, you could opt for a meatball, a small bite of hamburger, or less than half a rasher of bacon.

A "planetary health diet" that moves to healthier, more sustainable eating habits around the world could prevent 11 million early deaths per year by 2050.


The panel behind the report is comprised of 37 experts from 16 countries specialising in health, nutrition, environmental sustainability, economics and politics.

Image: A plant-based diet would help reduce the damaging effects of climate change

With the world's population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, the report argues that current diets, with a growing emphasis on Western-style high-calorie foods high in saturated fats, are unsustainable.

The solution, based on three years of modelling studies, is a diet consisting of around 35% of calories obtained from whole grains and tubers, and protein mostly derived from plants.

While permitting variations based on local need and culture, the diet allows for an average of just 7g of red meat per day and 500g of vegetables and fruits.

Daily poultry consumption would be confined to 29g - equivalent to one and a half nuggets - and fish to 28g, a quarter of a medium sized fillet. Eggs would be restricted to around 1.5 per week.

Image: Consumption of beans and pulses needs to increase

The commission says red meat and sugar consumption would have to halve at least, while that of nuts, fruits, vegetables and legumes such as lentils and chickpeas must double.

It insists that not only would people be healthier, but it would also reduce the damaging effects of climate change, soil erosion, deforestation and loss of biodiversity.

Image: Cutting meat production would reduce deforestation

Professor Tim Lang, one of the authors from City, University of London, said: "The food we eat and how we produce it determines the health of people and the planet, and we are currently getting this seriously wrong.

"We need a significant overhaul, changing the global food system on a scale not seen before in ways appropriate to each country's circumstances.

Image: Red meat consumption should be no more than 7g a day

"While this is uncharted policy territory and these problems are not easily fixed, this goal is within reach and there are opportunities to adapt international, local and business policies.

"The scientific targets we have devised for a healthy, sustainable diet are an important foundation which will underpin and drive this change."

The commission's findings, published in the Lancet, also call for restrictions on the advertising of unhealthy food, making healthy foods cheaper and halving food waste.