{"title":"Balance of Health reviewed statistics","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics","publisher":"The Balance of Health","description":"Only reviewed statistics are included. Source publications retain their own rights.","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","records":[{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-food-share-of-ghg","label":"Share of global greenhouse gas emissions from food","value":26,"unit":"%","range":{"low":21,"high":37},"geography":"Global","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-less-meat-reduces-emissions"],"note":"26% is Poore & Nemecek’s estimate (reference period around 2010); the 21–37% span is the IPCC SRCCL 2019 estimate range, not a confidence interval. Includes land-use change, farming, processing, transport, packaging and retail.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-food-share-of-ghg","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-animal-foods-share-of-food-ghg","label":"Share of food-system emissions from animal-based foods","value":57,"unit":"%","geography":"Global","year":2021,"sourceId":"src-xu-2021-food-ghg","claimIds":["claim-less-meat-reduces-emissions"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-animal-foods-share-of-food-ghg","sourceUrl":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-021-00358-x","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-ghg-beef-per-100g-protein","label":"Beef (beef herd)","value":50,"unit":"kg CO₂e per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-ghg-beef-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-ghg-lamb-per-100g-protein","label":"Lamb","value":20,"unit":"kg CO₂e per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-ghg-lamb-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-ghg-cheese-per-100g-protein","label":"Cheese","value":11,"unit":"kg CO₂e per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-ghg-cheese-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-ghg-pork-per-100g-protein","label":"Pork","value":7.6,"unit":"kg CO₂e per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-ghg-pork-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-ghg-chicken-per-100g-protein","label":"Chicken","value":5.7,"unit":"kg CO₂e per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-ghg-chicken-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-ghg-eggs-per-100g-protein","label":"Eggs","value":4.2,"unit":"kg CO₂e per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-ghg-eggs-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-ghg-tofu-per-100g-protein","label":"Tofu","value":2,"unit":"kg CO₂e per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-ghg-tofu-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-ghg-beans-per-100g-protein","label":"Beans & pulses","value":0.8,"unit":"kg CO₂e per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-ghg-beans-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-ghg-peas-per-100g-protein","label":"Peas","value":0.4,"unit":"kg CO₂e per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-ghg-peas-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-livestock-land-share","label":"Share of the world's farmland used for livestock (grazing plus feed crops)","value":83,"unit":"%","geography":"Global","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-livestock-land-share"],"note":"Poore & Nemecek’s 2018 allocation: livestock supplies around 18% of global calories and 37% of protein from that land.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-livestock-land-share","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-livestock-calorie-share","label":"Share of global calories supplied by animal products","value":18,"unit":"%","geography":"Global","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-livestock-land-share"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-livestock-calorie-share","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-soy-fed-to-animals","label":"Share of global soy used as animal feed","value":77,"unit":"%","geography":"Global","year":2021,"sourceId":"src-ritchie-2021-soy","claimIds":["claim-soy-mostly-fed-to-animals"],"note":"Includes soy meal after oil extraction. Roughly 7% goes directly to human foods such as tofu and soy milk.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-soy-fed-to-animals","sourceUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/soy","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-soy-direct-human-food","label":"Share of global soy eaten directly by people","value":7,"unit":"%","geography":"Global","year":2021,"sourceId":"src-ritchie-2021-soy","claimIds":["claim-soy-mostly-fed-to-animals"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-soy-direct-human-food","sourceUrl":"https://ourworldindata.org/soy","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-land-animals-slaughtered","label":"Land animals slaughtered for meat each year","value":85,"unit":"billion","geography":"Global","year":2023,"sourceId":"src-fao-faostat-livestock","claimIds":["claim-animals-slaughtered-annually"],"note":"Rounded from about 84.7 billion across seven major species in 2023; other species add further animals. Excludes fish and other aquatic animals, which are not counted individually in official statistics.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-land-animals-slaughtered","sourceUrl":"https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-chickens-slaughtered","label":"Chickens","value":77,"unit":"billion per year","geography":"Global","year":2023,"sourceId":"src-fao-faostat-livestock","claimIds":["claim-animals-slaughtered-annually"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-chickens-slaughtered","sourceUrl":"https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-pigs-slaughtered","label":"Pigs","value":1.5,"unit":"billion per year","geography":"Global","year":2023,"sourceId":"src-fao-faostat-livestock","claimIds":["claim-animals-slaughtered-annually"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-pigs-slaughtered","sourceUrl":"https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-sheep-goats-slaughtered","label":"Sheep & goats","value":1.3,"unit":"billion per year","geography":"Global","year":2023,"sourceId":"src-fao-faostat-livestock","claimIds":["claim-animals-slaughtered-annually"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-sheep-goats-slaughtered","sourceUrl":"https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-cattle-slaughtered","label":"Cattle","value":0.3,"unit":"billion per year","geography":"Global","year":2023,"sourceId":"src-fao-faostat-livestock","claimIds":["claim-animals-slaughtered-annually"],"url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-cattle-slaughtered","sourceUrl":"https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-vegetarian-ihd-risk-reduction","label":"Lower risk of ischaemic heart disease in vegetarians (relative)","value":25,"unit":"% lower relative risk","geography":"Multiple countries","year":2017,"sourceId":"src-dinu-2017-vegetarian-vegan-meta","claimIds":["claim-plant-based-heart-risk"],"note":"RR 0.75 (95% CI 0.68–0.82) from observational cohorts. Absolute differences are smaller and depend on baseline risk.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-vegetarian-ihd-risk-reduction","sourceUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2016.1138447","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-vegetarian-cancer-risk-reduction","label":"Lower overall cancer incidence in vegetarians (relative)","value":8,"unit":"% lower relative risk","geography":"Multiple countries","year":2017,"sourceId":"src-dinu-2017-vegetarian-vegan-meta","claimIds":["claim-plant-based-heart-risk"],"note":"RR 0.92 (95% CI 0.87–0.98), observational cohorts; association does not prove causation.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-vegetarian-cancer-risk-reduction","sourceUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2016.1138447","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-vegetarian-mortality-change","label":"Difference in all-cause mortality for vegetarians","value":0,"unit":"% (no significant difference)","geography":"Multiple countries","year":2017,"sourceId":"src-dinu-2017-vegetarian-vegan-meta","claimIds":["claim-vegan-diet-healthier-overall"],"note":"Zero is a display convention for no statistically significant association, not evidence of exactly zero effect.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-vegetarian-mortality-change","sourceUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2016.1138447","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-grazing-carbon-offset-share","label":"Share of grazing livestock emissions that soil carbon could plausibly offset","value":40,"unit":"% (estimated range 20–60%)","range":{"low":20,"high":60},"geography":"Global","year":2017,"sourceId":"src-garnett-2017-grazed-confused","claimIds":["claim-grass-fed-beef-still-high-impact"],"note":"Time-limited: soils saturate after decades and gains can be reversed.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-grazing-carbon-offset-share","sourceUrl":"https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/grazed-and-confused","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-beef-ghg-dairy-herd","label":"Beef from dairy herds","value":33.3,"unit":"kg CO₂e per kg","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants"],"note":"OWID/Poore & Nemecek dataset accessed 2026-09-06; per kg retail weight. Unverified percentile ranges omitted.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-beef-ghg-dairy-herd","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-beef-ghg-beef-herd","label":"Beef from beef herds","value":99.5,"unit":"kg CO₂e per kg","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants","claim-grass-fed-beef-still-high-impact"],"note":"OWID/Poore & Nemecek dataset accessed 2026-09-06; per kg retail weight. Unverified percentile ranges omitted.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-beef-ghg-beef-herd","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"status":"reviewed","id":"stat-vegan-cancer-risk-reduction","label":"Lower cancer incidence in vegans (relative)","value":15,"unit":"% lower relative risk","geography":"Multiple countries","year":2017,"sourceId":"src-dinu-2017-vegetarian-vegan-meta","claimIds":["claim-vegan-diet-healthier-overall"],"note":"RR 0.85 (95% CI 0.75–0.95); few vegan cohorts, observational association.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-vegan-cancer-risk-reduction","sourceUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2016.1138447","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"id":"stat-land-beef-per-100g-protein","status":"reviewed","label":"Beef","value":164,"unit":"m² per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-livestock-land-share"],"note":"Published per-protein land allocation, OWID version accessed 2026-09-06. This uses the study’s protein basis, not cooked USDA nutrient composition.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-land-beef-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"id":"stat-land-lamb-per-100g-protein","status":"reviewed","label":"Lamb","value":185,"unit":"m² per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-livestock-land-share"],"note":"Published per-protein land allocation, OWID version accessed 2026-09-06. This uses the study’s protein basis, not cooked USDA nutrient composition.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-land-lamb-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"id":"stat-land-cheese-per-100g-protein","status":"reviewed","label":"Cheese","value":40,"unit":"m² per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-livestock-land-share"],"note":"Published per-protein land allocation, OWID version accessed 2026-09-06. This uses the study’s protein basis, not cooked USDA nutrient composition.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-land-cheese-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"id":"stat-land-chicken-per-100g-protein","status":"reviewed","label":"Chicken","value":7.1,"unit":"m² per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-livestock-land-share"],"note":"Published per-protein land allocation, OWID version accessed 2026-09-06. This uses the study’s protein basis, not cooked USDA nutrient composition.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-land-chicken-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"id":"stat-land-eggs-per-100g-protein","status":"reviewed","label":"Eggs","value":5.7,"unit":"m² per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-livestock-land-share"],"note":"Published per-protein land allocation, OWID version accessed 2026-09-06. This uses the study’s protein basis, not cooked USDA nutrient composition.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-land-eggs-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"id":"stat-land-lentils-per-100g-protein","status":"reviewed","label":"Lentils (other pulses proxy)","value":7.3,"unit":"m² per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-livestock-land-share"],"note":"Published per-protein land allocation, OWID version accessed 2026-09-06. This uses the study’s protein basis, not cooked USDA nutrient composition.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-land-lentils-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},{"id":"stat-land-tofu-per-100g-protein","status":"reviewed","label":"Tofu","value":2.2,"unit":"m² per 100 g protein","geography":"Global average","year":2018,"sourceId":"src-poore-nemecek-2018","claimIds":["claim-livestock-land-share"],"note":"Published per-protein land allocation, OWID version accessed 2026-09-06. This uses the study’s protein basis, not cooked USDA nutrient composition.","url":"https://thebalanceofhealth.com/evidence/statistics#stat-land-tofu-per-100g-protein","sourceUrl":"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"}]}