[ad_1]
Washington DC: Turns out, if everyone on the planet wanted to eat a healthy diet, there would not be enough fruits and vegetables to meet the demand.
As a part of a recent study, the authors compared global agricultural production with nutritionists' consumption recommendations and found a drastic mismatch. The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Evan Fraser, co-author of the study, said, "We are currently in a global farming system. and vegetables, to a smaller degree, protein is not sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the current population. "
Researchers calculated how much land is currently being used for farming and so much more They then projected those numbers for 2050, when the global population is expected to reach 9.8 billion.
They found that we now produce 12 servings of grains per person instead of the recommended eight. That is, five servings of fruits and vegetables instead of 15, three servings of oil and fat instead of one, three servings of protein instead of five, and four servings of sugar instead of one.
"What we are producing at a global level is not what we should be producing according to nutritionists," said Fraser.
He said that it is necessary to have global supply and production for self-sufficiency and to establish global leadership in their production. These countries have also spent more money on research and innovation for these crops than for fruits and vegetables.
Krishna KC, the co-author of the study, said, "Also fat, sugar, and salt are tasty and are what we humans crave, so we have a real hunger for these foods. system that is really overproducing these types of foods. "
The study suggests that adopting a more nutritious diet is not only good for the planet.
50 million fewer hectares of arable land because fruits and vegetables grow less than grain, sugar and fat.
But to achieve this decrease, consumers would need to eat less meat, and the agri-food sector would have to produce more plant proteins.
Without a change, feeding 9.8 billion people will require 12 million more acres of arable land and at least one billion hectares of pasture land, said Fraser.
"Feeding the next generation is one of the most pressing challenges facing the 21st century." and vegetables as well as transition to diets higher in plant-based protein. "
…
Source link