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
What’s with the protein obsession? Eat more fiber, that is what almost everyone is lacking.
This is the take.
Which is funny, because tofu is low fiber. Eat more beans.
+1 to more beans!
Laughable new USAian nutrition guidelines plus accompanying social media nutrition grifters
I prefer both
Marketing. Also, people think you can only get protein from meat.
It’s a large ongoing Facebook campaign. My mom is also obsessed with protein suddenly, so dumb.
Are there any health issues linked to a lack of fibre?
The last meta study I saw saw that over all health comes were better for people with a majority fiber diet over both majority protein and majority carbohydrate diets.
Personally it’s the fact that I can be full faster but with less total calories.
Colon cancer.
That is probably the most serious. Other things that are more likely when you don’t get enough fibre with your food:
Feel hungry sooner
Increased blood sugar fluctuations
Piles due to increased straining to poop
Constipation
Abdominal cramps and bloating
Weight gain