By Laetitia Satam, General Member
As concerns regarding climate change begin to rise, it is no surprise that people are turning to sustainable diet options. This means choosing foods that are less resource intensive, which are better and more tolerable for the planet, while also promoting health.
What is a planetary diet? A planetary diet is sustainable for the Earth in the long term and can also feed everyone. It is estimated that by 2050, there will be 10 billion people on the Earth, and with 1 ⁄ 3 of people already experiencing hunger, that is a lot of mouths to feed. The world is already experiencing hunger levels that have not been seen since 2005, showing a backslide in solving the world's hunger problem. So, what is a sustainable diet, and how can it solve these issues?
A sustainable diet is plant-based. Now, I first want to say that a plant-based diet does NOT mean a vegetarian or vegan diet. A plant-based diet can still incorporate animal-based protein sources in smaller proportions and less frequently. It is also important to note that many diets outside the Western diet already follow these practices. Traditional Chinese and Japanese diets (along with many other cultures) make meat a side dish to the main vegetable-based dish. The Western diet also heavily consumes red meat, such as beef, and while red meat is healthy in moderation, raising cow herds requires a lot of resources, such as land and water. Plant-based foods also offer fibre (which many Canadians do not get enough of), multiple vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which promote heart health.
While plant-based foods are healthy and more sustainable, I also want to take time here to highlight that the meat and dairy industry is aware of their impact on the environment. Canadian Dairy Farmers of Canada created ProAction, standards all Canadian Dairy Farmers must abide by, including environmental sustainability. Canadian Dairy Farmers are investing in things like bioreactors to convert methane (the greenhouse gas that cows emit, which is one of their most significant concerns in terms of global warming) into energy to fuel farms, breeding cows that produce the least amount of methane while producing the most milk and working to reduce the amount of land and water that cows need. Dairy cows also contribute to only about 1% of carbon emissions in Canada, so I think it is important to remember not to demonize any one industry. Instead, it is a collection of industry trends that play a role in global warming. However, the number one cause of deforestation is to grow feed for cows. This has become a massive concern for countries in South America and includes the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest. Cows have the worst feed conversion ratio when you look at the feed conversion rate (how much feed and water need to be provided to an animal to yield meat). Even options like fish, although very healthy, are not sustainable due to the vast overfishing of our oceans, ruining marine ecosystems. By eating a sustainable diet, we are protecting the Earth and ensuring we can work to use our land to feed everyone.
Making a conscious, informed decision means knowing as many facts as possible. Ultimately, the key is consuming everything in moderation. Regarding health, red meat has many nutrition benefits, such as bioavailable heme iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and more. However, since red meat contains so much heme iron when consumed in excess, heme iron is a pro-oxidant that leads to inflammatory responses and free radicals accumulating in the body, which can lead to plaque buildup and atherosclerosis, leading to cardiovascular disease. Cow’s milk is an excellent source of bioavailable calcium, and just three servings a day can bring you to the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for calcium while also providing vitamin D, which most Canadians are deficient in. Plant-based beverages advertised as milk in Canada must also be fortified to meet the same nutritional quality as cow’s milk.
A sustainable, plant-based diet can also mean being open to and incorporating more whole, plant-based protein sources, such as tofu, tempeh, or natto. Soy protein sources are complete proteins that contain all the essential amino acids your body needs in the correct quantities. These can also be easy swaps - consider making tofu scrambles instead of scrambled eggs for breakfast! Try having meatless meals or even meatless days a few times a week. Make animal-based proteins a minor part of your diet, and when possible, swap them out with whole, plant-based proteins. Even when choosing other plant-based proteins like beans and legumes, pairing them with grains like rice creates a complementary protein which can still meet your essential amino acid needs.
Whole, plant-based proteins are emphasized because ultra-processed meat analogues (think “fake” meat) are not part of a sustainable diet. There is a vast difference between making a homemade bean burger and buying a Beyond Burger at the grocery store. While Beyond Burgers is vegan, just because something is vegan does not make it healthy. When comparing the nutritional information of a Beyond Burger to a regular beef burger, they are comparable nutritionally, although the Beyond Burger has more salt. It should also be noted that the protein from a Beyond Burger may not be as bioavailable (one breakthrough solution to this thought has been using soy leghemoglobin in Impossible Meat, which is bioavailable! This is relatively new on the market, and I, for one, am interested to see how it will change consumer preference to plant-based analogues). Ultra-processed foods can also be unsustainable because of the packaging and transportation behind these foods, as opposed to whole foods that usually do not require as much packaging and minimal transport when purchased locally. A sustainable diet promotes shopping locally and eating foods that are in season if this option is available to you.
Outside of supporting planetary health, ultra-processed foods have countless detrimental health effects. From being high in added sugars to excess sodium, a high consumption of ultra-processed foods has been linked to chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and more. Ultra-processed foods are making up more and more of the Western diet, which has detrimental health effects. As for developing countries that are also beginning to adapt to a Western diet, these health effects can significantly burden their healthcare system, which is not equipped to deal with all these chronic diseases. That is why a sustainable diet can be linked back to more traditional diets before there was a McDonalds on every block!
Eating a diet that supports planetary health can also help your health. I know that changing your diet can be overwhelming and complicated, so I want to remind you that it is all about small, sustainable changes you can maintain over time. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good! Every small, sustainable change can add up over time, improving the planet and your health as well!