This report forms part of the "Moving to a vegan agricultural system" series which examines how a move to an agricultural system where no animals are used would impact sectors such as the economy, employment, land use, the environment and food security. This part outlines impacts health and other social impacts.

This section is not yet written, but will be based on the following questions.

• What would be the impact of a vegan diet on population health and health care costs? This incidence of diseases such as diabetes 2, heart disease, some cancers, etc, are known to reduce when on a vegan diet. This should result in less demand for medical services.
• What would the impact be of the reduced risk of antibiotic-resistant infections, caused by the elimination of giving antibiotics to farmed animals?
• How would the changes in agriculture impact food security?
• How would a vegan agricultural system produce adequate nutrients for the Australian population, including calories, protein, fats, iron and calcium?
• What impact would a vegan agricultural system in Australia have on exports of food to other countries?

Notes

    - "society may wish to recognise food products with lower
        environmental impact, including those with lower embodied
        greenhouse emissions." (LU p167)
 
    - "Across Australian society, red meat consumption per capita has
        reduced by about 46% since the late 1930s." (LU p168)
 
    - "There is increasing recognition that excessive consumption of
        meat and meat products is a contributing factor to poor human
        health outcomes.  A reduced meat consumption would benefit
        individuals and populations.  13 Friel et al.  (2009 14 )
        modelled the population health effects of a 30% reduction in
        red meat production and consumption for the United Kingdom, in
        view of a proposed reduction in agricultural greenhouse
        emissions of 50%.  This study found that the burden of
        ischaemic heart disease could be reduced by 15% in the UK.
        Meat production, whether pasture or feedlot-finished, produces
        less food per unit of resource invested than non-meat options.
        15" (LU p68)