Yahoo News We need to ditch meat and adopt a 'planetary health diet' to save Earth
Today’s meat-heavy diets could soon be a thing of the past, as experts say we need to shift away from guzzling meat and adopt a ‘planetary health diet’ to safeguard Earth.
Shifting to a healthier, more sustainable diet could also prevent 11 million premature deaths per year by 2050, scientists claim.
It would also help to slow climate change, deforestation and the loss of species.
But to achieve this, red meat and sugar consumption would have to half (at least), and we’d have to double our intake of nuts, fruits, vegetables and legumes such as lentils and chickpeas.
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By 2050, the world population is expected to reach 10 billion – but the Earth only has finite resources for food production.
Researchers brought together 37 experts from 16 countries to design a diet which would be less harmful for our planet.
Current diets, with a growing emphasis on Western-style high calorie foods laden with saturated fats, are pushing the planet beyond its natural boundaries while causing ill-health and early death, say the researchers.
The solution, based on three years of modelling studies, is a diet consisting of around 35% of calories obtained from whole grains and tubers, and protein mostly derived from plants.
While permitting variations based on local need and culture, the diet allows for an average of just seven grams of red meat per day and 500 grams of vegetables and fruits.
Daily poultry consumption would be confined to 29 grams – equivalent to one and a half nuggets – and fish to 28 grams, a quarter of a medium sized fillet.
Eggs would be restricted to around 1.5 per week.
Professor Tim Lang, one of the authors from City, University of London, said: ‘The food we eat and how we produce it determines the health of people and the planet, and we are currently getting this seriously wrong.
‘We need a significant overhaul, changing the global food system on a scale not seen before in ways appropriate to each country’s circumstances.
‘While this is unchartered policy territory and these problems are not easily fixed, this goal is within reach and there are opportunities to adapt international, local and business policies.
‘The scientific targets we have devised for a healthy, sustainable diet are an important foundation which will underpin and drive this change.’
