Dietary change is not a prerequisite for effective biodiversity conservation but reduces socioeconomic obstacles

Dietary change is not a prerequisite for effective biodiversity conservation but reduces socioeconomic obstacles | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Dietary change is not a prerequisite for effective biodiversity conservation but reduces socioeconomic obstacles Patrick von Jeetze, Isabelle Weindl, Justin Johnson, Pasquale Borrelli, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3914402/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 03 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Sustainability → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The food production system has become the largest driver of biodiversity loss today. Here we apply a quantitative and spatially explicit framework to provide an integrated perspective on how a partial or complete transition to healthier diets would affect different dimensions of biodiversity change and compare the effects to a bundle of alternative conservation measures. Our results show that a decoupling of biodiversity loss from underlying drivers such as population and income growth depends more on conservation measures that address structural trends in land-use dynamics and allocation than on a convergence towards healthier diets. Particularly, as in many countries in tropical Africa and Asia, converging towards healthier diets would mainly involve reducing the intake of staple foods in favour of more nutritious plant-based foods, instead of replacing resource-intensive livestock products. However, even a partial dietary shift would significantly reduce important barriers to conservation, such as higher food prices and imports. Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Biodiversity Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Ecosystem services Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Socioeconomic scenarios Scientific community and society/Agriculture Scientific community and society/Developing world Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files subSI.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 03 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Sustainability → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3914402","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":273069469,"identity":"7c0d8c9b-c32a-4629-aa29-e151d166dfda","order_by":0,"name":"Patrick von 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