Understanding Sustainable Diets
Research has advanced our understanding of the relationship between humans and the ecosystem but this is certainly an area where there is a need for more research to directly show a cause and effect relationship between the choices we make and impact to the environment. Concerns regarding overpopulation, inadequate biological resources, potential destruction of ecosystems due to industrial development, climate change, urbanization, agricultural innovations, pesticides need to be considered. There is potential to affect patterns of human health, disease and nutritional status, however the impact of one choice does not live in a vacuum and can have ripple effects on multiple parts of the overall food system. It is important to conserve biological diversity to meet and sustain food, health and other needs of the growing world population. Is there a link between agricultural production and environmental degradation? Research suggests that there are limits to the impact that our environment can tolerate, however it is an incredibly complex solution. Health impacts of contemporary western eating behavior (think drive thru) concern nutrition-related diseases like diabetes, hypertension, gout and overweight. Our daily food choices can ultimately have an effect on our environment and may have public health consequences. Environmental nutrition aims to provide a sustainable diet suitable to our eating behavior while reducing the risks of harming the environment.
Environmental nutrition began after a recognition of the existing complex interactions among food systems, health and environment. It does not simply aim to provide sustainable diets but it also considers the interrelationships within food systems. Currently, the global food system has a significant impact on our physical environment. Since the Industrial Revolution, the food system has become much more complex. It has an increased range of inputs, drivers, outputs, and waste productions. Nourishing a growing population while balancing what the Earth can provide is still recognized as a major global challenge. Integrating environmental nutrition into public health will need an all-inclusive understanding of food systems and their impact on our biosphere.
Our food system must take responsibility for the impact on our health and overall well-being. We must find ways to reduce air and water pollution, toxic chemical exposure, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, soil erosion, climate change inducing greenhouse gas emissions, and loss of biodiversity.
Environmental nutrition can be a useful tool for critical analysis of the wide-reaching environmental, social, and health impacts of our agricultural system. So, what are these so-called sustainable diets?
According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), sustainable diets are defined as “dietary patterns that encourage all scopes of individuals’ health and wellbeing; have low environmental pressure and impact; are accessible, affordable, safe and equitable; and are culturally acceptable.”5 It is a diet that can use resources without exhausting or destroying them, and hence should be able to be sustained in the long term. This includes staying within the Earth’s biophysical capacity, i.e. what the planet can sustain in terms of resource provision and absorption of wastes, including greenhouse gas emissions.
The aim is to achieve optimal growth and development for all individuals and support functioning and physical, mental, and social wellbeing at all life stages for present and future generations. A sustainable diet aims to prevent forms of malnutrition, namely undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, overweight and obesity, while reducing the risks of non-communicable diseases and support the preservation of biodiversity and planetary health.
The food systems must work within environmental constraints to evade catastrophic consequences to our biosphere. Thus, we must address eating patterns, food waste and sustainable methods of agricultural production to enable wide scale adoption of sustainable diets.
So, what is our individual role as a consumer of agriculture and a reverent inhabitant of our earth?
If able, aim to breastfeed exclusively for six months and supplement with complementary feeding as appropriate.
Choose foods from all food groups.
Choose foods that are unprocessed or minimally processed.
Consume adequate protein at a low caloric cost.
Stay hydrated with unsweetened beverages.
Consume a diet within your individual caloric needs.
Help to eliminate food waste.
Stay tuned for our next series of blogs that will dive deep into each of these techniques. For now, make smart, informed choices, enjoy your meals with friends and family and don’t forget - let’s love food again, not fear it!
1. Sabaté J, Harwatt H, Soret S. Environmental Nutrition: A New Frontier for Public Health. Am J Public Health. 2016;106(5):815-821. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.3030466
2. Schwenk, M., & Hauber-Schwenk, G. (2003). Ernährungsökologie: Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten des Gesundheitsamtes [Nutritional ecology: chances of public health services to shape procedures]. Gesundheitswesen (Bundesverband der Arzte des Offentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes (Germany)), 65 Suppl 1, S26–S30. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2003-38116
3. Chen C, Chaudhary A, Mathys A. Dietary Change Scenarios and Implications for Environmental, Nutrition, Human Health and Economic Dimensions of Food Sustainability. Nutrients. 2019;11(4):856. Published 2019 Apr 16. doi:10.3390/nu11040856
4. Springmann, M., Wiebe, K., Mason-D'Croz, D., Sulser, T. B., Rayner, M., & Scarborough, P. (2018). Health and nutritional aspects of sustainable diet strategies and their association with environmental impacts: a global modelling analysis with country-level detail. The Lancet. Planetary health, 2(10), e451–e461. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30206-7
5. FAO and WHO. 2019. Sustainable healthy diets – Guiding principles. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/CA6640EN.
