There’s a lot more to nutrition science than diets and weight management.
Food sustainability is an area that I am passionate about and something I believe is incredibly important because, lets be honest it’s not something everyone pays attention to.
The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO) defines sustainable diets as: “Those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations“
Even people who don’t struggle with their weight or making healthy food choices can improve their diets in this area. Eating a healthy and sustainable diet makes your insides flourish and also means that you’re doing your bit to preserve food production and help future generations.
What’s all the fuss about?
Sustainability issues are present throughout all stages of the food system (production, processing, supply, retail, consumption and waste disposal). The food system contributes a considerable amount of greenhouse gas emissions (a big chunk of which comes from the meat/dairy industry) and is the primary reason for deforestation, land use change and biodiversity loss.
As demands for food increase, limits to agriculture production are emerging and there is a combinative depletion of resources such as soils, water and phosphates. The food system accounts for 70% of human water use and causes considerable water pollution. Finally, unsustainable fishing practices are responsible for the depletion of fish stocks and cause wide disruption to the marine ecosystem.
At a consumer level their are many ways to improve your ecological footprint and become more conscious and sustainably minded.
References:
Goggins G and Rau H. Beyond calorie counting: Assessing the sustainability of food provided for public consumption. J Clean Prod. 2016; 112: 257-66.
Garnett T, Appleby M, Balmford A, et al. What is a sustainable healthy diet? A discussion paper. 2014.
Peters GM, Rowley HV, Wiedemann S, Tucker R, Short MD, Schulz M. Red meat production in Australia: life cycle assessment and comparison with overseas studies. Environ Sci Technol. 2010; 44(4): 1327-32.
Marsden T and Morley A. Sustainable food systems: building a new paradigm. Routledge, 2014.