Blog
April, 2021

Sustainable Diets: a big thank you from the Planet

When we talk about healthy diets, we usually neglect the environmental sustainability, focusing exclusively on our health.  But we’ll see that ‘healthy’ and ‘sustainable’ diets are two concepts that go hand in hand. 

The area of sustainability is in fact part of a conscious, health benefits and balanced approach to food. This is explained by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) in the report titled Sustainable Healthy Diets Guiding Principles”. According to this study, a global transition to a more sustainable eating style is necessary to deal with the many environmental problems created by the current food system and the ongoing spread of unhealthy diets.  

What’s good for us it’s good for the planet  

Nowadays, the spread of unhealthy diets and our current food system are the main causes of two problems: the increase of malnutrition and the use of the environment and its resources.  

In addition, the increase of malnutrition has led to the spread of nutrition-related diseases, known as non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some types of cancer.    

At the same time, environment and natural resources are being used beyond their capacity to produce food. The report highlights how the production of food has a great impact on resources: we globally consume 48% of fertile land (including forests), and 70% of fresh water.  

As the population and therefore urbanization increases, the demand for food grows accordingly, especially for meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, sugars, fats and oils. As a result, the global transition to a more sustainable diet is necessary not only as a way to prevent the increased spread of food-related diseases, but also as a practical aid to the health benefit of our planet.   

Embracing a sustainable diet. What does it mean?    

The pillars of a sustainable diet 

Here are some of the main aspects related to a sustainable diet according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations:

 

[Source: Sustainable Healthy Diets guiding principles, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2019] 

Following these guidelines suggests that having a sustainable diet basically means eating in a balanced way, including the correct quantity of carbohydrates, vegetables, legumes, fats and animal proteins. It is also necessary to pay particular attention to how the foods we eat are produced and processed, focusing on the aspect of environmental sustainability associated to our current model of food production.  Currently, we can see that there is a change in lifestyle both from companies and consumers going green, who are showing more and more interest in alternative proteins to cut down on the consumption of meat, dairy products, and everything that contains animal proteins.  

Among these sustainable diets we highlight the Mediterranean diet (MD), typical of some countries located in the Mediterranean basin such as Italy, Spain and Greece. In addition to this one we also find the Japanese diet (JD) and the New Nordic diet (NND), both rich in cereals, eggs, fruits, vegetables, fish and meat in the right amount.    

In an effort to increasingly promote the adoption of healthy and sustainable diets, the United Nations has elected 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables. 

The International Year of Fruits and Vegetables was created as an initiative to raise awareness about the role of food on health and the environment, pushing for a commitment so that everyone can access and afford healthy and diverse diet.  A goal which is perfectly in line with the second purpose of a sustainable development of the United Nations that reads “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”.Â