Can eating more healthful foods save our planet?
By the year 2050, the projected world population is expected to be 10 billion people. Our current food system is NOT sustainable to feed a population this size. Food production, transportation, consumption and waste heavily influences the health of our planet and our own health. Knowing this, what can we do now to ensure that ourselves and future generations have access to healthier foods from a sustainable food system? This is far from a simple problem and will require a global food system transformation.
The EAT-Lancet Commission, a group of 37 scientist from 16 countries published the EAT-Lancet report in Jan 2019, the FIRST full scientific review of what constitutes a healthy diet from a sustainable food system, and which actions can support and speed up food system transformation. The key analysis of this report shows that a “safe operating space for food systems” requires a substantial shift toward a planetary healthy eating pattern, reduction in food loss and food waste in addition to improvements in food production practices.
So what does a planetary healthy diet look like? It may sound very familiar to you if you have been following me on Instagram (@DrPlantel) because it includes a diversity of plant based foods, lower amounts of animal sourced foods, and limited amounts of refined grains, highly processed foods and added sugars. A healthful diet is not only important for the prevention of diet related chronic diseases, it is also great for our planet and the environment. The commission projects that shifting to a more planetary sustainable diet could also prevent 11 million deaths per year.
In order to achieve the goal of a sustainable healthy diet by 2050, the EAT-Lancet-Commission found that it would require more than doubling in the consumption of healthful foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts with a 50% reduction in the global consumption of foods such as added sugars and red meat. Again, this is not a simple issue, as there are parts of the world that depend on animal agriculture for their livelihood and there are MANY people (~820 million) who currently lack sufficient food.
So what can we do at the individual level now? We can eat more plant based foods along with reducing food waste at the household and consumer level. I am doing my part to make sure we have a healthy planet to live on for future generations to come.
