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NEW YORK (AP) – A hamburger a week, but no more – that's about as much red meat as people should eat to do what's best for their health and the planet according to a report seeking to change the world's diet.
The report states that eggs should be limited to less than four per week. Dairy products should contain about one serving per day or less.
The report of a group of experts in nutrition, agriculture and the environment recommends a plant-based diet, based on previously published studies, which badociate red meat with an increased risk of health problems . This also comes from recent studies on the impact of dietary habits on the environment. Red meat production takes soil and feeds to raise cattle, which also emit methane, a greenhouse gas.
John Ioannidis, director of disease prevention at Stanford University, said he was pleased with the increasing attention paid to the impact of diets on the environment but the report's recommendations do not reflect the level of scientific uncertainty surrounding nutrition and health.
"The evidence is not as strong as it seems," said Ioannidis.
The report was organized by EAT, a non-profit organization based in Stockholm that seeks to improve the food system, and published Wednesday by the Lancet medical journal. The group of experts who wrote it stated that a "big food transformation" was needed by 2050 and that the optimal diet described was flexible enough to adapt to food crops from around the world.
Overall, the diet encourages whole grains, beans, fruits and most vegetables, and recommends limiting added sugars, refined grains such as white rice and starchy foods such as potatoes and cbadava. It indicates that the average consumption of red meat should be halved worldwide, although the changes needed vary from one region to another and that the reductions are greater in richer countries like United States.
It will not be easy, however, to convince people to limit meat, cheese and eggs, especially in places where these foods are an important part of the crop.
Cleberson Bernardes, a systems badyst in Sao Paulo, Brazil, said when leaving a barbecue restaurant that eating a portion of red meat a week would be "ridiculous". In Berlin, Germany, the artisan Erik Langguth said that there were better ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and rejected the idea that the world needed to reduce its consumption of greenhouse gases. meat.
"If it does not contain meat, it is not a good meal," said Langguth, a native of an area known for its bratwurst sausages.
Before even considering the environmental implications, the report sought to draw what the best diet for the population would look like, said Walter Willett, one of its authors and researcher in nutrition at the University of Harvard. Although we no longer think that eggs increase the risk of heart disease, Willett said the report recommends limiting them because studies indicate that a breakfast made up of whole grains, nuts and fruit would be healthier.
He added that not everyone needed to become vegan and that many already limited the amount of meat consumed.
"Think of it as lobster, something that I like a lot, but that I have several times a year," Willett said.
The tips for limiting red meat are not new and are related to their saturated fat content, which is also found in cheese, milk, nuts and packaged foods containing coconut oils and of palm kernel. The report notes that most of the evidence on food and health comes from Europe and the United States. In Asian countries, extensive badysis has shown that consumption of poultry and red meat (mainly pork) is badociated with improved life expectancy. This may be partly because people could eat smaller amounts of meat in these countries, the report says.
Stanford's Ioannidis pointed out that nutrition research is often based on observational links between diet and health, and that some past badociations have not been validated. Dietary cholesterol, for example, is no longer considered strongly related to blood cholesterol.
The meat and dairy industries are also challenging the report's recommendations, saying their products provide important nutrients and can be part of a healthy diet.
Andrew Mente, a researcher in epidemiology of nutrition at McMaster University, urged caution before making generalized dietary recommendations, which could have unintended consequences.
Nevertheless, the authors of the EAT-Lancet report claim that all available data strongly support the reduction of red meat for optimal health and the adoption of herbal diets. They note that the recommendations are consistent with US dietary guidelines, which advocate limiting saturated fat to 10% of calories.
Although the inhabitants of the poorest countries can benefit from a greater amount of nutrients contained in meat and dairy products, the report says that they should not follow the path taken by the richer countries with regard to the amount of food that they eat in the coming years.
Although estimates vary, a UN report says that livestock is responsible for about 15% of global warming gas emissions.
Robbie Andrew, Senior Researcher at the CICERO Center for International Climate Research in Norway, said agricultural practices that allow animals to grow faster and bigger could help limit emissions. But he added that cows and other ruminants still produce a lot of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
"It's very difficult to reduce those natural emissions that are part of their biology," said Andrew.
The environmental benefits of abandoning red meat depend on what people eat in its place. Chicken and pork produce much less emissions than beef, Andrew said, adding that plants in general have one of the lowest carbon footprints.
Brent Loken, author of the EAT-Lancet report, said the report outlined the parameters of an optimal diet, but acknowledged the challenge of figuring out how to work with policy makers, food companies and other stakeholders for Adapt and implement it in different regions. .
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