Sustainable diets

Role of animal sourced foods

For over 10 years, our team has been investigating the role of animal sourced foods in a sustainable healthy Australian diet. Our studies are based on actual reported dietary intake, using a dataset of more than 9,000 Australian adult daily diets. We also apply advanced Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) indicators.

For the Australian food system and dietary context, global recommendations and evidence obtained in other countries may not be directly relevant.

Also, conceptual diets or diets obtained using an optimization algorithm may not reflect common food intake patterns currently consumed in the population. Furthermore, such diets may not reflect the way foods naturally combine into familiar recipes and meals and depend upon assumptions about total dietary intake across the day.

Some people believe or have heard that plant-based diets are better for health and for the environment

We found that more sustainable healthy diets with 60-80% of protein from animal sources were most likely to meet nutrient Estimated Average Requirements, underscoring the important nutrients obtained from animal sourced foods.

It was also found that as the proportion of animal protein increased, total dietary protein also increased, and total energy intake fell. This is generally beneficial as the majority of Australian adults are living with overweight or obesity.

For more details see:

For a recent systematic review of Australian evidence, see:

Key contact

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