Sustainable Eating: "Eat For The Planet"

                                                          `   Written By Arsalan N.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the “Sustainable Development Goals” plan as a global call to the countries of the world, the aim of these SDGs was a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet now and into the future". The 12th goal is summarized as “Responsible Consumption and Production”. The UN hopes countries will have accomplished these set goals by the end of 2030.

What is sustainable eating?

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines a sustainable diet as: “Sustainable Diets are those diets with low environmental impacts that contribute to food and nutrition security and healthy life for present and future generations.” It may be hard to wrap your head around how a single consumer choice you make while you’re out grocery shopping can impact entire ecosystems and cause problems like large-scale deforestation, but that is exactly what the outcome of today’s age of hyper-consumerism could be leading us towards.

Why bother with sustainable eating?

Today, more than three billion people are malnourished and many of our planet’s 7 billion inhabitants eat diets low in quality. At the same time, the world’s population is rapidly expanding, so when considering sustainable food development, our goal should be to ensure a future where the growing populace has both enough food to eat and access to nutritive foods. This is why sustainable eating should be a top concern for the world.

How do you follow a sustainable diet?

When discussing sustainable diets, it is important to talk about how one can ensure at the grassroots level, as an individual that their eating habits are not harmful to the environment and thus, to future generations. According to the World Wildlife Fund, here are the things you can do as an individual to practice sustainable eating:

1. Eat food that’s in season: Instead of buying fruits and vegetables that are mass-produced artificially despite their crops not being in harvest, buy locally sourced produce. It’s a lot better for the environment and helps your local agricultural economy grow.

2. Unsustainable food staples: Don’t use products that are the leading cause of global deforestation, such as unsustainable palm oil. Use RSPO-certified palm oil instead. The “Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil” or RSPO was established in 2004 to promote the sustainable production and use of palm oil.

3. Make your own food: If you have the garden space available, why not test out your green thumb and grow your own food? You can start with small seasonal fruits or vegetables and once you understand the right gardening techniques, you can grow a portion of your meals all year round, right at home.

4. Don’t Waste Food: Food wastage is a major opponent of sustainable eating habits. 30% of the food produced is wasted, with serious repercussions for the environment. In fact, if food waste was a country it would be the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gasses after China and the USA. Reducing waste in your household is simple: freeze anything you can’t eat while it’s fresh and, where possible, buy loose produce so you can select the exact amount that you need.

5. Disuse plastic and plastic-based products: Plastic has infiltrated our natural world and even our diets. Bring a reusable bag when you shop, opt for packaging-free fruit and vegetables where possible, and ask brands and retailers that continue to use plastic to find alternatives.

6. Have More Variety in Your Meals: 75% of the world’s food supply comes from just 12 plants and five animal species. Greater diversity in our diets is essential as the lack of variety in agriculture is both bad for nature and a threat to food security.

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Citations:

[1] Safety, N. a. F. (2019, October 29). Sustainable healthy diets: guiding principles. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241516648 

[2] Sustainability. (2023, March 7). The Nutrition Source. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sustainability/ 

[3] M. (2018, February 26). Eight tips to eat more sustainably. WWF. https://www.wwf.org.uk/betterbasket