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Apr 9

Dietary changes in the subset of the population may contribute to climate goals – NewsDio

Diet Comments Off on Dietary changes in the subset of the population may contribute to climate goals – NewsDio

(Reuters Health) Healthy eating guidelines can only propel a small subset of the population to change their diets in favor of foods produced with less greenhouse gas emissions, but the researchers say these changes could still be good for the planet.The agricultural sector produces about a quarter of the world's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and meat production, especially beef, is a major contributor to global GHG, researchers say in The Lancet Planetary. Health. The present study aimed to address the fundamental gaps in the literature on diet climate: how to identify consumers who are receptive to dietary changes, and the effect of their possible changes on GHGE, diet health and diet costs.

"Previous research indicated that the carbon footprint of diets could be reduced by consuming less meat and more plant-based foods such as beans, nuts, and seeds," said Diego Rose, professor and director of nutrition at the School of Public Health. & Tropical Medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans and the lead author of the study."Such substitutions generally improve the healthiness of the diet and reduce its cost," Rose said by email. "But the previous studies primarily looked at diets added (across the country) or those generated by computer optimization."

For the current study, dietary data from American individuals from a nationally representative survey was linked to food-related GHGE. The researchers identified people receptive to changing their diets (potential changers) as those who reported trying the US Dietary Guide. USA And they probably accepted that humans contribute to climate change.

The study sample included 7,188 people, of whom 16% were potential changers. These were disproportionately women, highly educated, or had higher incomes compared to those who were unlikely to change their eating habits.The researchers assessed GHGE, the health of the diet as measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), and the costs of dieting before and after the hypothetical changes that replace beef or all meats with poultry or foods with plant proteins .Replacing 100% of beef intake with poultry reduced average dietary GHGE by 1.38 kg of CO2 equivalent per person per day, a decrease of 35.7%. This replacement also increased the average HEI by 1.7% and reduced the average cost of the diet by 1.7%.

The most important changes occurred by replacing all intake of beef, pork, or poultry with plant-protein foods: GHGE decreased by 49.6%, average HEI increased by 8.7%, and diet costs decreased by 10.5%.Hypothetical replacements in potential changers only resulted in whole-population reductions in 1-day dietary GHGE from 1.2% to 6.7%, the researchers calculated.That's because the production of red meat (beef or lamb) is responsible for 10 times the emissions of greenhouse gases like chicken and 20 times that of nuts, seeds or legumes, Rose said. Cows produce a lot of methane in their digestive systems, which is a powerful greenhouse gas."All animal products have a greater impact than plants because you have to raise the animals as well as the crops to feed them," Rose said. "So when people eat less meat, less meat will be produced, with less impact on the environment."

Plant-based diets are healthier because they have more fiber, less saturated fat, and less sodium compared to processed meats, Rose added. Such diets promote reduced levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood, lower blood pressure and, ultimately, reduced rates of cardiovascular disease, Rose said.

A limitation of the study is that potential "changers" were already consuming less beef and pork at the start of the study than other people, and the researchers did not know exactly how much meat they consumed. This makes it difficult to accurately estimate how much your meat consumption could reduce or what impact this could have on the climate.

Another limitation is that the researchers did not investigate other dietary changes that could accompany a reduction in beef consumption or determine any side effects on production, market supply, beef prices, or eating habits. of those who do not change.

Food production also has other environmental impacts, particularly on water and land use, that were not examined in the study.

Still, the results should provide additional encouragement to people who are willing and ready to cut down on red meat and consume more plant-based foods, said Dr. John Potter of the University of Public Health Research Center at the University of Massey in Wellington, New Zealand.

"The way forward is based on plants," Potter, who was not involved in the study, said by email.

"Start with meatless Mondays, gradually but steadily move toward a major reduction, take time to adapt and learn from plant-based cuisines around the world," Potter advised. "We don't all need to be vegan or vegetarian, but as Western societies, we are eating about 10 times more meat than we have seen in human history, 10 times more meat than is good for the planet, and 10 times more meat than it's good for our health. "

SOURCE: https://bit.ly/3c5LKiS The Lancet Planetary Health, online March 20, 2020.

. (tagsToTranslate) nutrition (t) dietary fiber (t) clinical guidelines (t) guides (t) global warming (t) climate change

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Dietary changes in the subset of the population may contribute to climate goals - NewsDio

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