A new peer-reviewed study i* published in Frontiers in Nutrition provides compelling evidence that pork can play a beneficial role in sustainable diets. The research, conducted by scientists at William & Mary, modeled the environmental and economic impacts of substituting various protein sources with pork in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults.
The findings suggest that pork performs similarly to poultry, seafood, eggs and legumes across key sustainability and agricultural resource indicators with a ± 1% change in land use, fertilizer nutrient use and pesticide use.
Modeled substitutions resulted in the greatest changes when beef was replaced with pork, reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), land, pesticides and fertilizer nutrients by 11%-35%. Substituting between one and three servings of each protein with pork was associated with a lower intake of refined grains and a greater intake of total protein.
Pork's Role in Sustainable and Affordable Diets
Despite being central to the American diet — accounting for nearly 25% of daily meat and poultry consumptionii — pork has often been overlooked in sustainability discussions. Previous research largely aggregated pork with other red meats, preventing a clear understanding of its unique environmental footprint.iii
"Our study helps clarify where pork stands in the sustainability conversation, and I encourage future research to distinguish pork from other meats," said lead researcher Zach Conrad, Ph.D., MPH.
Helping Consumers Make Balanced, Sustainable Choices
These findings reinforce that dietary sustainability is nuanced, and small, practical shifts can make a difference.
"Consumers don't have to overhaul their diets to make more sustainable food choices," explained Kristen Hicks-Roof, Ph.D., RDN, LDN, FAND, director of human nutrition at the National Pork Board (NPB).
The research also underscores the importance of distinguishing pork from other meats in dietary guidance and sustainability models. As the demand for sustainable food options grows, this study provides new data that can help inform discussions and consumer decision-making.
"Our findings highlight the need for better data collection among researchers to help health care professionals, those involved in nutrition guidance and consumers make more informed choices," said Conrad.
An aggregated report from the 2022 crop growing season illustrates how pork producers really are the first conservationists. For instance, net on-farm carbon emissions were -0.44 metric tons per acre across 170,660 acres, and the soil erosion rate was 1.14 tons per acre compared to a national average of 4.6 tons per acre.iiii Being able to share stories with real data from real producers is critical to ensuring we keep family farmers on the farm.
"Additional on-farm data is vital to sharing pork producers' stories," said Jamie Burr, chief sustainability officer for NPB. "That is why NPB has been on a journey since 2019 to collect data that provides greater insights into the environmental footprint of pork production."
