Transition Toward A Plant-Based Food System Would Create 19 Million Jobs In Latin America By 2030

Shifting toward plant-based food production would create 19 million jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean in the next decade, according to the newest report compiled by Inter-American Development Bank and International Labour Organization. The report called “Jobs in a Net-Zero Emissions Future in Latin America and the Caribbean” talks about the necessity of decarbonising the economy to avoid climate catastrophe in the region. 

Transitioning away from livestock agriculture and approaching net-zero green economy would create 22.5 million jobs in the region, including 19 million jobs in the plant-based sector: agriculture and food processing, construction, manufacturing, and electricity production.

Animal agriculture would lose half a million jobs in the decarbonised economy. 

According to the report, “a deeper analysis reveals that all countries experience large net job creations in the plant-based agriculture sector that more than compensate for job losses in the livestock and fossil fuel sectors combined”. The report states: “As the global economy gradually restarts following the COVID-19 lockdown, now is the time to craft a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future.” 

“This collaborative effort is the first to document how shifting to healthier and more sustainable diets, which reduce meat consumption while increasing plant-based foods, would create jobs while reducing pressure on the region’s unique biodiversity."