Swiss Study of Meat and Dairy Alternatives

The study modelled total replacement of meat, and in some scenarios both meat and dairy, with plant-based alternatives in Switzerland. Purchasable Swiss products were compared at the product level using a 1:1 weight substitution to assess nutrient composition and life-cycle environmental impacts.

Nature

Nutrient data came from EuroFIR for European countries, with Swiss meat and dairy data from the Swiss database. Environmental inventories were taken from Agribalyse v3.1, AgriFootprint v6.3, ecoinvent v3.9.1, SALCA v3.4/4.0 and the World Food LCA Database. Products were grouped by ingredient and processing type rather than by standard schemes such as NOVA, creating 1–20 datasets per group; raw products were used to avoid cooking uncertainty. Nutrient density was measured with the NRF11.3 index, including iodine, vitamin B12, calcium, sugar, sodium, expressed relative to population-level reference intakes. Life-cycle impacts were calculated in SimaPro v9.6 with the SALCA v2.01 method, system boundaries set from cradle to gate, and import inventories regionalised by country of origin.

Nature

Replacing meat with plant-based alternatives altered nutrient profiles, notably improving iodine and vitamin B12 levels while reducing sugar and sodium. Environmental modelling showed lower greenhouse-gas emissions and land use for alternatives. Sensitivity checks examined (i) substitution by a single product group, (ii) main-ingredient origin from six locations on four continents, and (iii) individual mechanically texturised soy products versus the group average; results varied within the ranges shown in Figure 3 and supplementary tables.

Nature

The analysis suggests that full meat replacement can improve key micronutrients and lower environmental pressures, supporting both public-health and climate goals. The authors note that meat reduction is advisable for health and climate, whereas dairy reduction is driven mainly by environmental considerations.

Nature

Incomplete datasets limited coverage of insect-based, pea-based and mycoprotein alternatives, requiring literature-derived estimates. No standardised preparation methods were available, and reference values for maximum dietary environmental impacts remain undefined, constraining absolute sustainability assessment.

Nature

• “org/investment) classification, since they would categorise most products into the same group, preventing a detailed analysis.” — Study authors

Nature

• “The inclusion of the preparation stage would likely have added large uncertainty to the results.” — Study authors

Nature

• “Nutrient density was assessed using the NRF index, a widely applied method well suited for LCAs that integrate the nutritional dimension.” — Study authors

Nature

• “The system boundaries were set from cradle to production gate, since packaging, retail, and consumption were assumed to be similar between alternative and reference products, hence not affecting the comparison between them.” — Study authors

Nature