Environmental impacts of alternatives to animal-source foods: a scoping review

Drawing on a comprehensive systematic search of the literature, this scoping Review examined 125 studies on the environmental impacts of alternatives to animal-source foods (Alt-ASFs) compared with conventional animal-source foods. Alt-ASFs generally required fewer natural resources and produced lower greenhouse gas emissions than animal-source foods, with the most consistent advantages observed for plant-based foods. Environmental impacts of insect-based, fungi-based, algae-based, and cell-based alternatives were more variable than plant-based alternatives, reflecting differences in production methods, processing intensity, and energy sources. The evidence base was concentrated in high-income countries, with low coverage of low-income and middle-income contexts. Moreover, analyses of ecological dimensions beyond greenhouse gas emissions, land and water use-such as biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and resource cycling-were comparatively scarce. Taken together, the evidence suggests that Alt-ASFs can contribute to more sustainable food systems relative to those with higher reliance on animal-source foods (particularly in high-income settings), but the scale and consistency of benefits remain sensitive to production practices and analytical assumptions underlying comparative analyses.