eng Science and Education Publishing Journal of Food and Nutrition Research 2333-1240 2025 #: These authors contributed equally to this paper-08-25 13 8 315 329 10.12691/jfnr-13-8-6 JFNR20251386 article Xiangquan Zeng 1 2 3 Xuzeng Wang 3 3 3 Jian Li lijian@th.btbu.edu.cn 3 3 3 National Market Supervision Administration Innovation Center (Animal Substituted Protein), Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, 100048, PR China This study employs a multi-regional life cycle assessment (LCA) across 12 countries to quantify and compare environmental impacts of plant-based beef analogue (PBBA) versus conventional beef production. Key drivers of ecological footprints were identified: PBBA reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 80¨C90% but exhibited critical regional bottlenecks¡ªsoybean-driven deforestation in Argentina (contributing >70% to global warming impacts) and coal-dependent processing in China (amplifying fine particulate matter formation by 69%). Significant spatial disparities emerged in resource efficiency: beef production demanded 7.8× more water and 22.9× greater land use than PBBA, with nitrogen/phosphorus runoff from feed cultivation causing freshwater eutrophication (18.8× higher in beef systems). Substitution modelling revealed that replacing 1% of China¡¯s beef consumption annually with PBBA could reduce agricultural emissions by 0.4¨C0.7%, cumulatively mitigating 12.8 million tons of CO? by 2030. However, consumer surveys across 18 Chinese cities identified taste authenticity as the primary adoption barrier (41.5% rejection in culinary hubs; ¦Â = ?0.53, *p*<0.001), mediated by cultural identity (62%), while economic vulnerability tripled price sensitivity among low-income youth versus older cohorts. The findings underscore that scaling PBBA requires region-specific interventions¡ªaddressing supply-chain bottlenecks (e.g., deforestation-free soy sourcing, renewable energy integration) and demand-side cultural adaptation (e.g., recipe reformulation with chefs)¡ªto align planetary health goals with dietary transitions. https://pubs.sciepub.com/jfnr/13/8/6/jfnr-13-8-6.pdf Consumer behaviour Food culture Plant-based beef Sustainable diets Life cycle assessment Dietary transition