In a paper published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Dr. Chris Macdonald explored the best sources of protein currently available.
To answer the question, Macdonald had to build a new holistic scoring system that combines measures of environmental impact, health, affordability and availability into a single framework.
Applying the scoring system to 20 commonly consumed protein-rich foods, the analysis found a striking pattern: every product in the highest-scoring quintile was plant-based, while every product in the lowest-scoring quintile was animal-based. Tofu ranked first overall, while cheddar cheese ranked last.
The paper argues that many existing food rating systems focus on only one aspect of a product. While useful, these single-dimension labels can obscure important trade-offs and make it difficult to compare foods comprehensively.
TOFU DOMINATION
Link to open access article https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1677796/full
I agree, I’m Autistic and had an eating disorder as a teenager. It takes a lot for me to leave my safe foods behind. Not because I don’t sincerely care about ethics and the environment but I also need to be alive and healthy.
And then I met my awesome partner who hates meat and we started cooking and experimenting together. It hasn’t been over night but just one meal at a time I’ve totally changed my eating habits!
[EDITED: my partner hates meat, he doesn’t hate me— as far as I know.]