a diet heavy on whole grains and plants wont only benefit human health itll benefit the planet too according to a report published this week by a commission of dozens of experts from 16 countries the report published in the lancet attempted to determine the optimal diet for both humans and the earth and found that if people around the globe followed a plantbased diet it would save over 10 million lives preventing 20 percent of adult deaths per year we asked what kind of diet do we need to optimize human health and what are the limits that the earth can actually tolerate dr brent loken coauthor of the report and a conservation scientist told abc news some reports look at it differently like what level greenhouse gases need to reach and then work backwards after reviewing numerous studies the commission recommended a diet high in vegetables and grains and low in meat fat and oils it laid out specific amounts in quantity and calories for people ages 2 to adulthood more vegan diet reverses diabetes symptoms study finds the study was based on a 2500calorie diet the recommended caloric intake for a sedentary to moderately active adult male moderately active women should consume about 2000 calories per day the researchers recommended that this diet include about 600 grams of vegetables per day which comes out to about 4 cups of broccoli about 200 grams of whole grains per day which is equal to about 1 cup of dry brown rice or 4 cups cooked and about 200 grams of cooked black beans which is nearly 4 cups replacing a quarterpound of ground beef for a plantbased option would also allow for another 5 cups of cooked lentils altogether this diet would still allow for other foods including starchy vegetables fruits nuts and some oils and sweeteners its possible to feed every single person not just calories but a healthy diet without having a negative impact on the environment loken said dietary patterns impact the environment the commission took into account planetary thresholds on carbon emissions and food sustainability based on guidelines from international panels and the paris agreement to offer strategies for food system change loken told abc news that the group took into account several variables including greenhouse gas emissions the loss of biodiversity and land and water use more eat your vegetables nutrients in leafy greens may help prevent dementia with americans consuming 265 billion pounds of beef in 2017 several reports have tried to apply these same variables to estimate the environmental impact of a quarterpound hamburger one report using numbers from a study on the environmental impact of beef production estimated that one burger required 146 gallons of water 135 pounds of feed and 645 square feet of land to produce additionally they led 013 pounds of methane and 4 pounds of carbon dioxide to be released into the environment the environmental working group estimated that the carbon footprint of broccoli is nearly