Sustainable diets are diets with low environmental effects that lead to food and nutrition sustainability and healthier life for current and future generations. These diets, while maximizing natural and human resources, are protective and respectful of habitats and environments, culturally appropriate, accessible, economically equal and sustainable, nutritionally sufficient, secure, and balanced. Simply put, healthy and safe both for people and for the planet.
The good news is, a sustainable diet is an easy route to go. There's just a few simple rules you have to follow:
Prefer plant-based foods. This is excellent advice not only for health reasons but also because it leads to a sustainable diet that significantly reduces the impact of food production on the environment.
Eat a diverse diet. Filling plates with color helps ensure that a variety of foods get to the table. A varied plate on the table indicates agricultural diversity.
Get five servings of fruits and vegetables a day and not only as a side dish. Fruits and vegetables are the best choices for a snack in a balanced, nutritious diet, particularly for young children.
Support local, organic products. Choosing your local produce not only encourages you to purchase the freshest and most tasty food but is also essential to healthy agriculture and a balanced environment that allows for savings.
Whenever practicable, use fresh ingredients. This helps reduce the unnecessary packaging at home and when dining out.
Reduce intake of processed foods. These foods are extremely high in carbohydrates, fats and salt, as shown in the labels on nutrition information, but they are not considered healthy foods for your health.
Ramp up the consumption of wholewheat grains. Wholewheat rice, barley, oat, corn and rye have high nutritious benefits, as they help combat many diseases and they need less effort, hence less energy and water to process the same amount of food.
Resist sugary beverages. Swapping water with sodas and fruit juices will lead to weight gain in the long run, so it is not advised for a healthy diet.
Increase your pulse intake. Low pulse consumption is a perfect way to follow a healthy diet, as it contains nutrients and replaces plant-based animal proteins for the good of the environment.
Decrease red and processed meat consumption. Choosing other protein options such as pulses is better. One of the agricultural activities with the biggest environmental effect is the rearing of livestock for meat.
Pay sustainable sellers of seafood. This helps preserve the aquatic fauna and flora, which are constantly at risk from overfishing.
Look for goods that come from farms and pastures that are free-range. Market decisions often influence the quality of life of the animals which we use for food.
