Plant-Based Meals Offer Triple Win for Health, Planet & Wallet, Shows Study

A comparison of like-for-like meat-based, vegetarian and whole-food plant-based meals shows that the latter can improve micronutrient intake, reduce climate impact, and lower costs.

Plant-based meals in restaurants, cafeterias and schools can deliver a triple win for human, planetary and financial health, according to a new comparison study.

Published in the Nutrients journal, researchers looked at the nutritional quality, environmental impact, and cost of vegan, vegetarian and meat-based versions of four lunch dishes at a London university cafe.

The study included lasagne, chilli, curry and teriyaki meals, with the meat-based dishes using beef or chicken, meat-free versions using vegan mince or Quorn, and whole-food plant-based meals employing vegetables, tofu, and lentils.

In all cases, the whole-food plant-based meals “consistently outperformed” their meat-based counterparts on cost, sustainability, and nutrition.

“These findings highlight the potential benefits of increasing the availability and uptake of healthy plant-based meals in foodservice settings (e.g., restaurants, takeaways, cafeterias, schools, and workplaces) to reduce the environmental impact of food consumption while improving micronutrient intakes and public health,” the researchers noted.

Plant-based lasagna tops nutrition chart

The nutritional quality of meals was evaluated using the Nutrient Rich Food (NRF) index. The original NRF 9.3 index is based on nine nutrients to encourage (like protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals) and three to avoid (saturated fat, sugar and sodium), but it was originally developed for American adults.

NRF 9.3 doesn’t include some of the nutrients of public health concern for British adults, so the researchers also assessed the meals with NRF 17.3, which includes more micronutrients.

The whole-food plant-based lasagna (comprising lentils) received the highest rating, achieving over 40% of the maximum NRF 17.3 score. The chilli and teriyaki recipes made from these ingredients scored around 35%, while the curry had a score of just under 30% of the maximum.

In comparison, the beef lasagna received just under 40%, and the beef chilli only 25%. The chicken teriyaki and curry, meanwhile, scored only around 10% of the maximum.

“An ideal recipe should have an NRF score equal to approximately 30% of the maximum NRF score,” the researchers said. Only four recipes – the whole-food vegan lasagna, chilli and teriyaki, and the beef lasagna – passed this threshold.

In fact, the lentil lasagna was the most nutrient-dense recipe in the whole study, providing 19% of the daily recommended value for protein, and exceeding the fibre recommendation by 30%. In addition, it was the only lasagna to have lower than 30% of the recommended saturated fat intake, and had the highest amounts of thiamine, folate, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper and selenium across all lasagne.

Meat-based meals far worse for the planet – and the wallet

The difference between the environmental impact of meat and meat-free dishes was massive. The global warming potential (GWP) of one beef lasagna was 5.8 kg of CO2e, equivalent to 15 lasagne containing plant-based meat, and 22 whole-food plant-based versions.

Similarly, the impact of one beef chilli is higher than that of 11 plant-based meat versions and 28 whole-food chillies. “In other words, eating a plant-based chilli for lunch every day for an entire month would result in the same climate impact as eating one beef chilli,” the study noted.

And even though chicken has a much lower carbon footprint and has been touted by bodies like the UN FAO as a climate-friendlier protein, one chicken teriyaki noodle dish had the same GWP as four tempeh-based versions. The difference was even larger with curry, with one chicken-based version equivalent to seven vegan curries.

When it came to prices, the cost of vegan meals was cheaper than meat across the board. The average cost for meat-based recipes was £2.31, while vegetarian meals averaged out at £1.97. In comparison, vegan (both whole-food and with meat analogues) dishes had the lowest average price at £1.49, subverting a constant criticism about the high prices of plant-based alternatives.

Meat was the single-largest contributor to recipe costs, with chicken responsible for up to 75% of the meal’s price, and beef up to 70%. For vegetarian recipes, the bulk of the cost came from Quorn (up to 63%) and cheese (16%), while the price of vegan meals came primarily from meat alternatives (32-56%) and non-dairy cheese (11%).

“In whole-food vegan recipes, the contribution of main ingredients (i.e., various vegetables, pulses, and pasta/noodles) to total recipe cost was relatively equally distributed,” the researchers found.

Whole-food plant-based on the rise in the UK

“Meat-based meals in this study with high environmental impact were transformed into more sustainable alternatives by replacing animal-based ingredients (e.g., meat and dairy) with plant-based options… [which] significantly reduced the environmental impact of meals in all cases while also improving the nutrient density of recipes in most cases,” the study stated.

It added that plant-based meat and dairy “can serve as healthful replacements for meat when chosen carefully” and be more climate-friendly too. “However, their nutritional quality is dependent on the type of product, formulation and degree of processing.”

The study serves as further proof that the real stars are whole foods such as vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts. Already, British consumers and food companies are recognising this. Last month, Oh So Wholesome released Veg’chop, a whole-food-packed protein block, the same day meat alternative maker THIS launched a similar concept called Super Superfood.

Meanwhile, the UK is spearheading the ’30 plants a week’ movement, led by figures like Zoe co-founder and nutritionist Tim Spector and documentaries like Netflix’s Hack Your Health.

This study shows that in addition to retail, foodservice operators play a “central role” in encouraging consumers to eat better. “The more convenient and accessible these healthy and sustainable options are, the more likely consumers are to choose them,” the researchers said.

They advocated for “clear and accessible communication strategies”, such as traffic-light labels for health and climate impacts, making plant-based meals the “dish of the day”, and optimising sensory-focused descriptions that enhance their appeal.

In 2024, the World Resources Institute compiled a list of 90 techniques that can help foodservice players ‘nudge’ plant-based behaviours among diners. Some of the most effective strategies include chef training to improve the quality of vegan meals, increasing the ratio of these dishes, integrating meat-free options into meat sections in displays, and – as this new study recommends – using indulgent and appealing language to describe them.