vegetarian would reduce emissions by just 4.3 percent, on average.16 And yet another found that, if every American went vegan, emissions would decline by just 2.6 percent.17 Plant-based diets, researchers find, are cheaper than those that include meat. As a result, people often end up spending their money on things that use energy, like consumer products. This phenomenon is known as the rebound effect. If consumers respent their saved income on consumer goods, which require energy, the net energy savings would only be .07 percent, and the net carbon reduction just 2 percent.18 It is for that
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