Abstract
Animal-based foods, a traditional source of nutrients, are increasingly called into question owing to human health and environmental concerns. We show that across a simulated period of 200 years the share of animal calories in the total global calorie supply has stagnated over the last forty years. This is inconsistent with Bennett's law, which states that diet shares of meat and other nutrient-dense foods increase when per capita incomes rise. It implies a growing environmental footprint of the global human diet. Using FAOSTAT and World Bank data, our panel regression estimates confirm a weakening link between income and animal calorie consumption as countries develop. This trend is also observed for human trophic levels, a measure of the energy intensity of diets. Overall, we contribute to the food sustainability debate by offering a long-term view of actual animal-source calorie development patterns.