What Happens If We Stop Eating Meat?

I’m a meat-eater, there’s just no denying that. I’d love to blame my husband, bodybuilder and Pro Wrestler, Zakary Edington, but the truth is, I’m not entirely sure it is his fault. There’s something about a good steak on a plate that’s perfectly marbled and seared to perfection. That crunch on the outside with a little char, then that salty chewy center that just hits the spot when the craving for red meat happens. It’s a centuries old tradition of fire, hunting, and of Friday suppers where silence was broken only by chewing.

Now, the truth of the matter is, the carnivore diet has come and become a fad every once in a while, and some people really swear by it. I’m a moderist, always have been. I think everything in moderation is the proper way of eating, but for the heck of it, I decided to explore what would happen if meat just completely disappears from our diet.
What happens to our health, our ecosystems, or our traditions in the process?
Would it change a culture, when one of its oldest ingredients is no longer part of the recipe?

Turns out, it’s a transformation of how we live, what we value, and who we believe ourselves to be.

Disclaimer: This article explores potential dietary changes and their impacts. It is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for medical or nutritional advice. Consult a registered dietitian or healthcare professional before making major changes to your diet.

The Planet on a Plate

Every bite we take carries a cost, in water, land, and carbon, not only in calories or coins.

Meat, especially red meat, is one of the costliest for all of us. Cattle alone account for a significant portion of methane emissions, a gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. It takes over 1,800 gallons of water to produce just a single pound of beef…which is a lot of water in case you were wondering. Also, yes, you’re not drinking enough water. Drink more water you beautiful dehydrated person! Nearly 70% of all agricultural land on Earth is used either for grazing or growing animal feed.

If we stopped eating meat, we might see forests regrowing where pastures once sprawled, or waterways clearer, less burdened by runoff. It’s possible the return of biodiversity to monocultured lands could happen, or a decrease in greenhouse gases…a slowing of the planet’s fever.

It sounds ideal, sure, but it isn’t without complexity. I mean, besides the fact that the world isn’t going to give up eating meat tomorrow. Some ecosystems have been shaped by centuries of grazing, and removing livestock could unsettle those balances.

Also what replaces the meat? Soy fields? Almond orchards? Yeah…then the environmental cost doesn’t vanish, it just shifts. Still, there’s little question: a world with less meat would ease some of the planet’s burden. Definitely not all of it, but some.

Today, we raise over 80 billion land animals each year for food. The vast majority are born into confinement, live without dignity, and die without even a second thought. If humanity chose to stop eating meat altogether, we’d be sparing billions of lives from suffering. No more cramped cages, no more debeaking, tail docking, forced impregnation, and no more assembly-line slaughterhouses. The romantic in me loves this idea, this thought that all animals would be free and not just raised for food.

We’d be closing the chapter on one of the most brutal stories we’ve ever written.

The paradox is real though, because these animals exist because we created a need for them. If we no longer need them, they could cease to exist at all. I mean, how are domestic animals going to survive out there in the wild? No more pigs, bred for bacon or cows, bred for milk and meat. We’ve bred them to be dependent, and without purpose, we could stop breeding them altogether.

It’s a strange sort of freedom, to liberate by erasing, and it forces the question: what kind of life is better, one lived for slaughter, or not lived at all?

What Happens to Our Bodies

From a purely biological perspective, we don’t actually need meat to survive. Modern nutrition offers plenty of plant-based sources of protein, iron, omega-3s, and other essential nutrients. With care and serious planning, a meatless diet can be both healthy and fulfilling. In fact, many studies show that plant-based eaters enjoy lower risks of heart disease and high blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, reduced risk of certain cancers, and decreased rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

There are two sides to this argument though, and it’s important not to just lean one-sided. The nutrition we’ve extracted from plants or added into our meatless food is often not very healthy for us. Chemicals are not substitutions for real food.

That also doesn’t mean the transition away from meat is easy either. Meat is more than food, it’s comfort. It’s your grandmother’s stew, your dad’s grill, the smell of bacon on a lazy Sunday morning. Some many miss meat for what it represents alone: a tether to the past, a cultural anchor.

There are real nutritional challenges, too. Vitamin B12, for instance, is hard to come by outside of animal products. Iron absorption could very well be reduced in a meatless diet. Some athletes report difficulty maintaining muscle mass and my husband would never be able to stop eating meat.

There will always be a kind of biological nostalgia, a hunger that isn’t quite hunger, a craving that’s more about memory than meat.

If the world wants to keep eating meat without the environmental and ethical baggage, lab-grown meat could very well be the answer. Made from real animal cells but grown in bioreactors, cultured meat offers the taste and texture of traditional meat, without the slaughter. It’s already on menus in Singapore, approved for sale in the U.S., and inching closer to supermarket shelves. Think of the implication of no animals harmed and no factory farms cramping a ton of livestock in small spaces.

Will people accept it is another story altogether. Some are excited, while others are uneasy. I mean…I can understand both viewpoints myself. I’m soft hearted and want all the animals out there to never know the fear of heading to a butcher’s block, but I also am a culinary trained foodie who adores the flavor and taste of meat. I also appreciate the deeper story of the farmers who bred a certain duck for 200 years to get the perfect fat to leanness ratio. Is it real food if it never walked or breathed? Are we eating more chemicals at that point?

Lab-grown meat walks a strange line, not quite plant-based, not quite traditional. It could very well be the bridge between where we are and where we want to go though.

If the world stopped eating meat tomorrow, the ripple effects would be enormous. Emissions from food production could drop by more than 50% while vast amounts of land could be rewilded or used for carbon sequestration. Now…if that would actually come to pass is another story. Chances are we’d build a bunch of parking lots and apartment complexes and the millionaires of the world would find ways to keep the land from others, but it’s the theory of potential more than anything. Water use would decline dramatically without the livestock we currently have. Public health would improve from reduced antibiotic resistance and lower rates of chronic disease, and even fewer zoonotic diseases would jump from animals to humans.

It would be one of the most profound acts of collective climate action the world has ever seen. It wouldn’t even require a new technology, just a new mindset. Not everyone has equal access to meat alternatives around the world, not all regions can grow lentils, and not every community views meat the same way.

A gentler world is possible, but it won’t be perfect, and it won’t be painless.

It also doesn’t have to be all or nothing. We don’t have to quit meat entirely to make a difference. Reducing meat (especially beef) can still create massive positive change. Less meat means fewer animals raised in confinement, less water used, fewer emissions, and more room for balance.

Try meatless Mondays, or start with one plant-based meal a day. Lunch is the easiest for me. Salads or just veggie bowls with rice are really filling and can keep me satiated throughout the day. Support local, regenerative farms when you do eat meat to make sure your meat is being raised right. Honor the animal when you choose to include it. I do try to never waste food because someone out there died for it.

Sustainability is about intention as much as anything else. Leaning toward a future we’d be proud to serve is still progress.

For most of human history, meat was a symbol of strength. It was our actual and literal survival. If we let it go (or let it fade into rarity) what fills that cultural role? We could maybe start to find beauty in the quiet meals, where no one had to die for us to be full.

This isn’t just about food, but about the future, and whether we write it with a carving knife or a wooden spoon.

What Happens If We Stop Eating Meat?

The Planet on a Plate

What Happens to Our Bodies

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