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A report on the global burden of disease shows that unhealthy diets account for up to 11 million premature deaths each year
PHOTO: FILE
PARIS: The way humanity produces and eats food must change dramatically to prevent millions of deaths and "catastrophic" damage to the planet, according to a landmark study released Thursday.
The key to these two goals is a radical change in the global diet: about half as much sugar and red meat, and twice as many vegetables, fruits and nuts, concluded a consortium of three dozen researchers in The Lancet, a medical journal.
"We are in a catastrophic situation," said AFP Tim Lang, co-author, professor at the University of London and policy officer of the EAT-Lancet Commission who compiled the study 50 pages.
At present, nearly one billion people are hungry and another two billion are eating too much bad food, causing epidemics of obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
Unhealthy diets account for up to 11 million preventable premature deaths each year, according to the latest Global Disease Burden report.
At the same time, the global food system is the main emitter of greenhouse gases, the main factor of biodiversity loss and the main cause of deadly algae growth along coastlines and waterways. Agriculture – which has transformed almost half of the world's land surface – also uses about 70% of the world's freshwater reserves.
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"To have a chance to feed 10 billion people in 2050 in the confines of the planet," we need to adopt a healthy diet, reduce food waste and invest in technologies that reduce environmental impacts, said co-author Johan Rockstrom, director of the Institute for Research on the Impact of Climate Change in Potsdam.
"It's feasible but it will take nothing less than the world agricultural revolution," he told AFP.
The cornerstone of "great food processing" advocated in the study is a human diet model of about 2,500 calories a day.
"We do not say everyone has to eat the same way," Lang said over the phone. "But overall, especially in rich countries, it means a reduction in meat and dairy products and a significant increase in plant consumption."
The diet allows about seven grams of red meat a day, and up to 14. A typical burger patty, by comparison, is 125 to 150 grams.
For most rich countries and many emerging countries such as China and Brazil, this would represent a drastic reduction of five to ten times.
Beef is the main culprit.
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Not only does livestock transit mbadive amounts of methane, which warms the planet, but mbadive strips of carbon-absorbing forests – mainly in Brazil – are being reduced each year to make room for them.
"For the climate, we know that coal is the fruit at hand, the dirtiest of fossil fuels," said Rockstrom. "On the food side, the equivalent is grain-fed beef."
It takes at least five kilograms of grain to produce one kilo of meat. And once the steak or lamb chop is out, about 30% ends up in the trash.
Dairy products are also limited to about one cup (250 grams) of whole milk – or its equivalent of cheese or yogurt – a day and one or two eggs a week.
At the same time, the diet requires an increase of more than 100% of legumes such as peas and lentils, as well as vegetables, fruits and nuts. Cereals are considered as sources of less healthy nutrients.
"We can no longer feed our people with a healthy diet while balancing global resources," said Lancet editor Richard Horton.
"For the first time in 200,000 years of human history, we are absolutely out of step with the planet and nature."
The report draws heavy shots from the cattle and dairy industry, as well as some experts.
"It's extreme to create maximum attention, but we need to be more responsible when we make serious dietary recommendations," said Alexander Anton, secretary general of the European Dairy Association, noting that dairy products are "packed In nutrients and vitamins.
Christopher Snowdon of the Institute of Economic Affairs in London said the report "reveals the full agenda of the militants of the state guards".
"We were expecting these attacks," Lang said. But the same food companies who oppose these conclusions realize that they may not have a future if they do not adapt, "he said. -he declares.
"The question is: does it come from a crisis or do we start planning now?"
Some multinationals reacted positively, but with caution, to the study.
"We need governments to help accelerate change by aligning national dietary guidelines with healthy and sustainable requirements and reorienting agricultural subsidies," the World Business Council for Sustainable Development said in a statement.
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