The British Nutrition Foundation has published a review paper examining the current evidence on the changes required in high-income countries to make diets “simultaneously more environmentally sustainable as well as healthier.”
The review recommended further consideration be made to the nutritional quality of diets, alongside environmental benefits, to achieve "sustainable diets that benefit both human and planetary health."
The Foundation claimed research shows that following government-backed healthy eating advice, such as the UK’s Eatwell Guide, across the population can deliver both these benefits, but currently less than 1% of people are achieving all of the Eatwell Guide's recommendations.
According to the report, animal-sourced products currently provide over a quarter of iron, a third of vitamin A and about half the calcium, zinc, iodine and riboflavin in UK adult diets.
The UK study suggests that following the Eatwell Guide’s recommendations more closely would:
- lower the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) of current adult diets by 30%,
- reduce water use by 4%,
- reduce mortality risk by up to 7%.
The Eatwell Guide describes a diet that is rich in foods from plants, but can also include some meat, dairy, fish and eggs. A consistent finding of the review is that achieving diets that are "both healthier and more sustainable" requires a shift in the food choices to include more plant-derived foods and plant-based meat alternatives that provide essential nutrients and are lower in salt and saturated fat.
Amongst other findings, the report stated that although vegetarian and vegan diets can deliver environmental benefits in terms of land use associated with food production, they are unlikely to be widely adopted based on current adherence rates. The review added that vegetarian and vegan diets may also reduce intakes and/or bioavailability of some essential nutrients found in foods such as meat, fish, milk, and eggs - e.g., iron, zinc, calcium, iodine, and vitamin B12.
The need to moderate consumption of red and processed meat was a consistent finding in the studies reviewed by the Foundation. However, evidence reviewed did not suggest the need to cut out meat or other animal-derived foods entirely in order to eat a healthier and more sustainable diet.
The Foundation stated that it is important to consider the essential nutrients that these foods can provide in the diet.
BNF said: “As well as protein we also need to consider delivery of the many other essential nutrients that animal-sourced foods provide, if we are to ensure that people’s nutrient intakes do not suffer as dietary patterns shift.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
