Time to introduce the ‘sustainable’ diet

Is there a need to also make our diets or the way we eat “sustainable?” My answer would be “yes.” A study that InangLupa, which I founded and head, sourced from the internet points to the need for all of us to modify the way we eat to save the environment. And if we fail to do that, we will need to take drastic steps to increase food production substantially with dwindling land and water resources.

Titled “When too much isn’t enough: Does current food production meet global nutritional needs?,” it describes how unsustainable our current diets are because of high meat consumption. It recommends that we should consume more fruits and vegetables.

The study, authored by researchers from the University of British Columbia, University of Guelph and University of Waterloo, all in Canada, said there is a “fundamental mismatch” between the food produced globally and what we consume.

- trate the fundamental mismatch between what global agriculture produces and what the world’s population requires for a balanced diet as recommended by nutrition experts. Although global agriculture already produces enough calories for the world’s current population, there

vegetables and protein and major over-production of energy-dense foods, especially sugars, cereals and oils. Consequently, people must over-consume these products in order to meet their calorie requirements,” it said.

The study added that failure to adopt to a balanced diet also contributes to the worldwide epidemic on obesity and diabetes.

Three ‘pathways’

THE study provided three “pathways” to make our diets more sustainable and make agriculture less harmful to the environment.

sources of proteins that require less land to produce and do not contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

This would require making more efficient the way livestock is produced, such as the adoption of “high-density short rotation” grazing where a high number of cattle are placed in a small pasture for a short period of time. Such an approach would lessen the need for land to be devoted for pasture that can then be planted to crops.

The good news is the study does not encourage a shift to a purely vegetarian diet, as about 987 million people worldwide depend on livestock production and meat consumption is important to improving the health of the rural poor, according to the study.

The second pathway is to use science and technology to increase yields, which I have been writing about in my columns. My position on this issue is simple: land and water supplies are dwindling, leaving us with no option but to increase yields through the use of improved cultivars and better farm practices that save water and conserve soil resources, among others.

Current technology tends to increase crop production, however, this needs to be stepped up, the study indicated.

“In the calculations above, we assumed that technological advancements will continue to increase yields by 1 percent per year which is consistent with how technology has increased yields over the past 50 years,” it said.

To me, a 1-percent increase in crop yields annually from current science and technology efforts is definitely not enough to feed a growing world population.

And I was not surprised that the study recommendeds the adoption of various technologies to raise crops, such as vertical farming, hydroponics and LED lighting.

“Such innovative production systems must be developed in tandem with farmer-directed, participatory plant breeding and genetics programs, and support for pollination services, in order to boost yields,” the study said.

One of the last recommendations the study made to lessen meat consumption is to increase fish consumption. This step can also help improve our health because

cardiovascular diseases. However, with the million or even billions of tons of solid wastes being dumped into our oceans and waterways,

are consuming contains substantial amounts of toxins. So, my suggestion here is to increase aquaculture

production by combining it with hydroponics (called aquaponics), among others.

The third pathway the study recommended is to reduce food wastes, citing data from the Food and Agricultural Organization showing farmto-retail waste of food is as high as 20 percent. It said that reducing food waste to 10 percent would reduce GHG emissions by 10 percent.

Not hard to adopt

I believe introducing the “sustainable” diet to people won’t be hard if they are convinced that it would help save the environment and improve their health.

During the past administration, there was a campaign to encourage people to eat more root crops and corn grits in place of rice, as the country at that time was already importing the staple. The higher consumption of vegetables was also encouraged.

But with climate change upon us, a new campaign to eat less rice and meat should be put in place while emphasizing the health

My gravest concern in this advent of climate change is dwindling water resources, as agriculture accounts for more than 80 percent of freshwater utilization worldwide. And by 2030, according to experts, it is expected that agricultural demand for water alone will exceed available supply.

And that would also mean we may not have enough water to drink.

So this early, let us start adapting to the sustainable diet for our health and the environment.