EAT, a global non-profit foundation, aims to catalyse a food system transformation, while envisioning a fair and sustainable global food system for healthy people and a healthy planet. The foundation’s mission is to transform the global food system through sound science, impatient disruption and novel partnerships. Within this context, the EAT-Lancet Commission released a report titled Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems. Grounded in scientific evidence, the report highlights the interdependence of food systems, health and planetary sustainability.
This entails the achievement of two broad targets.
Target 1: Healthy diets
These consist of an optimal caloric intake from diversified plant-based and animal source foods, containing unsaturated rather than saturated fats as well as limited amounts of refined grains, highly processed foods and added sugars. The role of animal source proteins must be considered based on specific local and regional realities – dependence on livestock, burden of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency etc.
Target 2: Sustainable Food Production
The state of the planet is regulated by the processes and interactions of the Earth System, particularly between the biosphere and climate system. These systems and processes are increasingly being recognized as necessary parameters for a system-wide definition of sustainable food production. For each of these, the Commission proposes boundaries that global food production should stay within to decrease the risk of irreversible and potentially catastrophic shifts in the Earth system. These planetary boundaries for food production conceptually define the upper limit of environmental effects for food production at the global scale.
According to the report, current modes of food production are the largest contributors to environmental degradation. Sustainable food production entails adhering to the food-specific planetary boundaries vis-à-vis climate change, land and water use, biodiversity loss as well as nitrogen and phosphorous cycles. In addition to this, it must adequately and equitably meet the global population’s growing food demands.
In order for the systems of food production to stay within planetary boundaries, a combination of major dietary change, improved food production through enhanced agriculture and technology changes as well as reduced food waste during production and consumption is urgently required.
By volume, a planetary health plate should consist half a plate of vegetables and fruits. In terms of contribution to calories, the other half should primarily consist of whole grains, plant protein sources, unsaturated plant oils and modest portions of animal sources of protein (optional).
The prescribed planetary health diet does not imply eating exactly the same food regardless of geographical regions. Instead, it is consistent with traditional eating patterns and outlines empirical food groups and ranges of food intakes, which combined in a diet, would optimize human health. This universally-applicable planetary health diet must be locally interpreted and adapted to necessarily reflect the varied cultures, geography and demography of particular groups of individuals.
India Outbound
January 22, 2019
source https://indiaoutbound.org/eating-a-truly-healthy-plate-of-food/
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