Well, the results are in and I think people who ask vegans where we get our protein from should just… stop. A study published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems introduced the BPI Score, a 40-point rating system evaluating 20 popular proteins across human health, environmental impact, cost, and availability.
Lead researcher Chris McDonald, Lab Director at the University of Cambridge and founder of Better Protein Institute, evaluated foods across two equal metrics:
- Planet Score: Measures greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water pollution, and freshwater use.
- People Score: Measures health factors (complete amino acid profile, saturated fat, sodium) along with retail price and access.
The paper provides empirical data showing plant-based proteins outperform animal products across both ecological sustainability and public health metrics. Tofu particularly ranked first overall with 36 out of 40 points. Overall, plant proteins (chia seeds, lentils, beans, quinoa) swept the entire top 20%.
On the other side, animal products comprised the bottom 20%, with cheddar cheese ranking lowest, followed by mozzarella, lamb, and beef. And there is no need to worry about tofu not being as good as meat -it scored high for health because it is a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids, zero cholesterol, and low saturated fat.
Let’s not forget producing 100g of tofu protein requires 2.16 m² of land and generates 0.16 kg of CO2 equivalent, compared to 211.38 m² of land and 64.19 kg of CO2 equivalent for beef protein. And, most importantly, choosing plant proteins over animal ones means an innocent sentient being won’t be killed simply for protein… especially when we literally have better choices.
