scholarly journals The Complementary Roles for Plant-Source and Animal-Source Foods in Sustainable Healthy Diets

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 3469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin B. Comerford ◽  
Gregory D. Miller ◽  
Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak ◽  
Katie A. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Dietary Guidelines ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Plant Source ◽  
Animal Source Foods ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
Healthy Diets

There are approximately 100 countries with food-based dietary guidelines throughout the world, each of which aims to encompass the cultural, geographical, and health considerations unique to their country of origin. Common themes throughout these guides emphasize diverse and balanced intake of food groups from both plant- and animal-sources. With the globally recognized need to shift to more sustainable food systems, several countries and international food and health organizations have begun to incorporate sustainability recommendations into their dietary guidance. These sustainability recommendations are often based on food source (i.e., eat more plant-source and fewer animal-source foods), yet food source may not be the only useful or informative comparator for assessing healthy and sustainable diets. The purpose of this narrative review is to examine the roles of plant-source foods and animal-source foods in the context of sustainable healthy diets—with an emphasis on the contributions of the most commonly recommended food groups from global food-based dietary guidelines (i.e., fruits, vegetables, and dairy foods). Overall, plant and animal agriculture have complementary and symbiotic roles in healthy and sustainable food systems, and these abilities are largely dependent on various contextual factors (e.g., geography, production practices, processing methods, consumption patterns)—not just on whether the food originated from the plant or animal kingdom.

scholarly journals Dietary gap assessment: an approach for evaluating whether a country’s food supply can support healthy diets at the population level

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 2277-2288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edye M Kuyper ◽  
Reina Engle-Stone ◽  
Joanne E Arsenault ◽  
Mary Arimond ◽  
Katherine P Adams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Dietary Guidelines ◽  
Healthy Diet ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Animal Source Foods ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
Healthy Diets

AbstractObjectiveDietary diversity, and in particular consumption of nutrient-rich foods including fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans and animal-source foods, is linked to greater nutrient adequacy. We developed a ‘dietary gap assessment’ to evaluate the degree to which a nation’s food supply could support healthy diets at the population level.Design/SettingIn the absence of global food-based dietary guidelines, we selected the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet as an example because there is evidence it prevents diet-related chronic disease and supports adequate micronutrient intakes. We used the DASH guidelines to shape a hypothetical ‘healthy’ diet for the test country of Cameroon. Food availability was estimated using FAO Food Balance Sheet data on country-level food supply. For each of the seven food groups in the ‘healthy’ diet, we calculated the difference between the estimated national supply (in kcal, edible portion only) and the target amounts.ResultsIn Cameroon, dairy and other animal-source foods were not adequately available to meet healthy diet recommendations: the deficit was −365 kcal (–1527 kJ)/capita per d for dairy products and −185 kcal (–774 kJ)/capita per d for meat, poultry, fish and eggs. Adequacy of fruits and vegetables depended on food group categorization. When tubers and plantains were categorized as vegetables and fruits, respectively, supply nearly met recommendations. Categorizing tubers and plantains as starchy staples resulted in pronounced supply shortfalls: −109 kcal (–457 kJ)/capita per d for fruits and −94 kcal (–393 kJ)/capita per d for vegetables.ConclusionsThe dietary gap assessment illustrates an approach for better understanding how food supply patterns need to change to achieve healthier dietary patterns.

scholarly journals Comparing the Recommended Eating Patterns of the EAT-Lancet Commission and Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Implications for Sustainable Nutrition

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Tichenor Blackstone ◽  
Zach Conrad
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Interdisciplinary Collaboration ◽  
Whole Grains ◽  
Dietary Guidelines ◽  
Eating Patterns ◽  
Dietary Recommendations ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Healthy Diets ◽  
Dietary Guidelines For Americans

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to compare the global reference diet from the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems (EAT-Lancet) with the healthy eating patterns from the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Conversion factors were developed to quantitatively compare the patterns. These factors are provided to enable investigators to incorporate the EAT-Lancet diet into analyses while maintaining relevance to US-based dietary guidance. Our findings show several areas of agreement between EAT-Lancet and the DGA but key differences in the amounts of whole grains, fruit, starchy vegetables, red meat, nuts and seeds, and discretionary calories. Many of the differences between the patterns reflect divergent approaches to developing dietary recommendations, not only methodologically but also regarding whether current food consumption patterns are considered as constraints on recommendations. Continued interdisciplinary collaboration is needed to advance dietary guidance that promotes sustainable nutrition.

scholarly journals Method for the Development of WISH, a Globally Applicable Index for Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Laura Trijsburg ◽  
Elise F. Talsma ◽  
Sandra P. Crispim ◽  
James Garrett ◽  
Gina Kennedy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Scoring System ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Healthy Diets

Promoting both a healthy diet and at the same time considering the environmental sustainability aspects of production and consumption of the diet are urgent global issues. We developed the WISH (World Index for Sustainability and Health) to evaluate diets for healthiness and sustainability. The WISH seeks to measure two complex multidimensional concepts, diet quality and environmental sustainability, in one scoring system. The WISH is based on the EAT-Lancet recommendations for a healthy and sustainable diet in the general population with global applicability across multiple settings. Thirteen food groups are scored between 0 and 10, based on their association with disease and impact on environmental indicators. The scoring system was applied using a dataset of duplicate 24 h dietary recalls from 396 urban Vietnamese men and women. Out of a maximum score of 130, the mean total WISH score was 46 (SD 11), and scores for the healthy and high-environmental impact sub-scores were mean 25 (11) (out of 100) and mean 26 (8) (out of 70) respectively. A higher score was observed for the less-healthy (mean 20 (2) out of 30) sub-score. Our initial analysis shows that the WISH is able to differentiate between the healthiness and the environmental sustainability of a Vietnamese diet.

scholarly journals Legal and human rights-based approaches to healthy diets and sustainable food systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
D W Patterson ◽  
K Buse ◽  
R Magnusson ◽  
B C A Toebes
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Healthy Diets ◽  
Health And Development ◽  
The Right

Abstract Issue Malnutrition in all its forms poses daunting challenges to global health and development. The agriculture sector is a significant contributor to global warming. COVID-19 has pushed many people into poverty, including food poverty. A radical rethink of business models, food systems, civil society involvement, and national and international governance is required to address the interlinked crises of COVID-19, obesity, undernutrition, and climate change. International human rights law, institutions and mechanisms provide important opportunities for norm setting, advocacy and accountability. Yet these pathways are under-utilised by both governments and civil society. Description The global AIDS response demonstrated the power of a human rights-based approach. United Nations' HIV/AIDS and Human Rights Guidelines greatly influenced the global consensus for effective, evidence-based approaches. The Guidelines also informed resolutions of the UN General Assembly and its Human Rights Council, contributing to more affordable medicines, an unprecedented increase in people on treatment, less stigmatising health services, the empowerment of marginalised groups, and the institutionalisation of norms, including “no one left behind.” Human rights-based approaches have also been successfully utilised in tobacco control. Results In 2019, 180 experts from 38 countries published an open call on WHO and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to initiate an inclusive process to develop guidelines on human rights, healthy diets and sustainable food systems. Most signatories were from the health and development sectors, demonstrating the increasingly broad interest in using human rights mechanisms to address global health challenges. Lessons Opportunities exist to transform food systems and create healthier food environments and a healthier planet by clarifying existing international obligations to progressively realise the right to food and the right to health. Key messages Market forces, alone, are failing to deliver healthy diets and sustainable food systems. International legal frameworks and accountability mechanisms provide opportunities for engagement and action. Human rights guidelines can help mobilize multisectoral action, strengthen State and private sector accountability, and deepen community engagement in the urgent task of achieving Agenda 2030.

scholarly journals Boundary Negotiations in a Self-Organized Grassroots-Led Food Network: The Case of REKO in Finland

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 4137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ehrnström-Fuentes ◽  
Hanna Leipämaa-Leskinen
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Food Network

Self-organization is a term that is increasingly used to describe how engaged citizens come together to create sustainable food systems at the local community level. Yet, there is a lack of understanding of what this self-organizing activity actually means. While previous literature has addressed self-organization as an outcome of building consensus and a collective intentionality shared by the members of a group, we focus on the complex social processes involved when people with a diverse set of interests and motivations interact in the food network. In this study, we analyze what kinds of boundary negotiations emerge when grassroots-led food networks scale up. Our embedded single case study focuses on a REKO (‘REjäl KOnsumtion’, meaning ‘fair consumption’ in English) network in Finland comprising distributed local food groups and three types of actors: consumers, producers, and local administrators. We examine a conflict that arose within the REKO network in May–June 2016 when a small group of actors demanded that all local groups should implement similar rules, principles, and ethical standards. Our findings illustrate how moral, geographic, market, and power boundaries emerge in a self-organized grassroots-led food network. We further explicate the challenges that may appear within a self-organized grassroots-led food network, as it grows in scale and scope.

scholarly journals Healthy diets and sustainable food systems

The Lancet ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 394 (10194) ◽  
pp. 214-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Archer ◽  
Carl J Lavie
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Healthy Diets

scholarly journals Healthy diets and sustainable food systems – Authors' reply

The Lancet ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 394 (10194) ◽  
pp. 215-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Willett ◽  
Johan Rockström ◽  
Brent Loken
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Healthy Diets

scholarly journals Affordability of Healthy and Sustainable Diets in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Mekonnen ◽  
Dare Akerele ◽  
Thom Achterbosch ◽  
Thijs de Lange ◽  
Elise F. Talsma
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Dietary Recommendations ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Healthy Diets ◽  
Southern Nigeria ◽  
Protein Rich ◽  
Food Systems Sustainability

This study examines the cost and affordability of healthy diets in Nigeria. Using the 2015/16 and 2018/19 waves of Nigeria General Household Surveys, we find that, generally, the least-cost options to meet dietary recommendations for vegetables, dairy, and protein-rich foods are more expensive to meet than that of other food groups. Despite improvements during the survey years, the challenges of affordability of healthy diets appear more pronounced in rural than urban, among poorest household groups, and in northern than southern Nigeria. Results suggest that it will be more expensive to meet the dietary recommendation for dairy foods if priority will be given for food systems sustainability over concerns for food preferences of the households. It will however be cheaper to achieve dietary recommendations for vegetables, fruits and starchy staples even when households give more consideration to food systems sustainability than tastes and preferences in their choice of healthy foods. Relative affordability of protein-rich foods are less affected by whether (or not) tastes/preferences or food systems sustainability drives healthy food choices. Key implication is that interventions targeting on affordability of healthy diets should give greater attention to the poorest of the poor, to rural than urban, and to northern than southern Nigeria. Implications relevant for research, policy, and other actors that focus on transformation of the food systems toward achieving healthier diets in a sustainable food systems are discussed.

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