"The Planetary Diet: A Sustainable and Healthy Approach to Eating for the Environment and Our Health"

2023-04-20 09:01:39

The planetary diet has attracted attention not only for its benefits for those who follow it, but also for what it represents for the environment. On the one hand, healthier diets are associated with a decrease in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions; At the same time, it is essential to protect the planet from sustainable food systems.

The origin of the planetary diet

Initially, the sustainable diets were defined in 1986 by the authors Gussow and Clancyas “food options that support life and health within the limits of the natural system for the foreseeable future”.

In 2010, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and Biodiversity International defined sustainable diets as:

Those with low environmental impact that contribute to food and nutritional security and a healthy life for present and future generations. Sustainable diets protect and respect biodiversity and ecosystems, are culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable, are nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy, and optimize natural and human resources”.

With these definitions as background, currently there is talk of the planetary health diet through which it seeks to adopt healthy diets from sustainable food systems to protect the planet while improving the health of billions of people globally.

Advances supported by science

An investigation carried out in 16 countries whose results correspond to a Scientific Consensus of the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health, brought together professionals from related disciplines (such as agriculture, public health and environmental sustainability policies). The results showed that it is fundamental and a priority to move towards a healthy and sustainable eating model.

The consensus indicates that a planetary diet model is a sustainable food proposal whose purpose is to combat the harmful effects of pollution and climate change:

Global warming
Species extinction
Among other demonstrated consequences

Surely you are interested in: An expert debate on the planetary health diet opens

How to achieve a planetary diet?

To advance towards this model, the consensus establishes, as a general rule, that the consumption of foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes should double. It is also recommended that the consumption of foods such as red meat and sugar should be reduced by more than 50%.

We must ask ourselves from the food industry if consumers would be willing to a proposal for a planetary diet.

Studies that investigate the ecological impact of eating habits, carried out with the purpose of knowing the position or opinion about the environmental effects of eating habits or customs, yield promising results.

The planetary diet brings together two issues that deserve to be addressed urgently: the health of consumers and the well-being of the environment. Photo: Freepik

Figures that support this type of diet

Some of the data that have aroused the greatest interest regarding the planetary diet are:

80% of consumers consider that both the purchase and consumption of their food has an environmental impact.
75% of consumers believe that adopting healthy eating habits has a lower impact on the environment, compared to unhealthy eating habits.
Consumers highly value and give a “very important” rating to those companies that provide them with information and knowledge related to healthy and sustainable eating. In fact, 80% of consumers acknowledge that knowing the environmental impact of food would be an excellent tool to contribute to its reduction.

In addition to the above, the evidence of the advance in the dietary patterns of the world population shows a trend towards a worrying imbalance in non-communicable chronic diseases, such as:

Obesity
Diabetes
Arterial hypertension

All of them are related to food, so they show the need to move towards healthier patterns.

We invite you to read: Sustainable and ecological diets

Health as the main agent of change

This context of malnutrition positions the food industry as one of the actors with room for action. For example, by inquiring into consumer studies that allow you to know the predisposition to incorporate dietary changes for environmental reasons.

In this way, existing barriers to the paradigm shift could be identified and, consequently, strategies designed to reverse the situation.

Consumers express the need to know the environmental impact of the foods that make up their daily diet, which is a window of opportunity both for the development of healthy and sustainable options, and for communicating them to those consumers who now request this information.

Since consumers have demonstrated their environmental concerns associated with food choices and practices, what motivates them to turn to these options? Here are some of the main factors:

Environmentally friendly consumption
High motivation towards food waste
High motivation to consume food made in their own country
Preference for the consumption of food produced with respect for animal rights

The growth in popularity among foods that prioritize environmental protection, as well as the concept of sustainable development represent a trend.