(P02-018-23) Beef: Association With the Human Health and Environmental Impact

Objectives: This study aimed to conduct a literature review on the relationship between beef production and consumption on human health and environmental impact.

Methods: To conduct the review, we adopted the following inclusion criteria: studies published from 2007 to 2022, in Portuguese or English, available in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and PubMed databases. We conducted the search based on the following descriptors: “human health”, “chronic non-communicable diseases”, “sustainable consumption”, “consumption of beef”, “livestock”, “climate change” and using in combination the Boolean operators “AND” and “OR”. We also included in the review the documents published by the Food and Agriculture Organization, books, book chapters, and Brazilian Government Documents on the subject.

Results: The search yielded 41 publications, and we selected 28 related to the research question. Some studies have shown that excessive consumption of red meat ( > 71 g/day), including beef, was associated with the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, and impaired kidney function. Also, studies showed that the emission of greenhouse gases (in carbon equivalents) due to beef production is elevated. This is the main indicator used to assess the environmental impact, but we observed the use of other indicators, such as water and land use.

Conclusions: Excessive consumption of beef was associated with the incidence of some chronic non-communicable diseases. Moreover, its production has an elevated environmental impact, contributing to climate change. Since diets, food systems, and the environment are connected, developing more sustainable diets and agricultural systems is relevant to promote healthier diets and climate change mitigation.

Funding Sources: None