An idea to start a consultancy half a world away is developing into a mission to change the way people think and eat for nutritionist Anna DeMello. She tells Rebecca Fox about her plantbased eating initiative. Planting the seed
EATING a more plantbased diet lowers the risk of chronic disease and helps the environment, nutritionist Anna DeMello says.
DeMello, who qualified as a dietitian in her home country of Canada, and her partner Jono Drew, a medical student at the University of Otago, are on a mission to educate people about the benefits of a plantbased diet.
The pair are dedicated plantbased eaters, otherwise known as vegans, but encourage people to gradually integrate more plantbased eating into their diet.
‘‘The information is valid and strong, but it is not out there enough or at all.’’
DeMello moved to Dunedin 18 months ago and set up Plantbased Living Initiative as a oneonone nutrition consultancy.
However, her real passion is group education and recently the pair held a twopart workshop in Dunedin on healthy and climatefriendly food choices.
Through group education, DeMello hopes to get across that by eating less meat and more plantbased foods people reduce their risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, certain types of cancer and heart problems.
A 2016 study that followed more than 200,000 US adults for more than 20 years found that eating a diet high in plant foods was associated with a 20% lower risk of diabetes compared with individuals eating a diet low in plant foods.
While people often thought their genetic heritage predisposed them to such diseases people could still make choices to minimise the risk, DeMello says.
‘‘It’s making that step in the right direction.’’
As part of his studies,
Drew has investigated the cobenefits, in relation to climate change mitigation and population health, of plantbased eating patterns with the view to setting new policy guidelines.
‘‘He looked at the impact of all kinds of foods commonly eaten in New Zealand and modelled a sustainable eating pattern which looks more and more plantbased.’’
That means basing a diet around unprocessed vegetables and legumes with fruit, nuts and seeds (in moderation) and herbs and spices.
Small amounts of lean, mostly white, protein, dairy and grains can be added.
Recent publicity around ‘‘fake’’ or ‘‘synthetic’’ meat alternatives also muddied the waters. They were highlyprocessed products although there were environmental benefits to them.
‘‘Healthwise there is no good reason to consume them.’’
Comments that a plantbased diet is expensive is challenged by DeMello, who says if people buy seasonal vegetables and use canned or frozen alongside buying legumes, such as peas, beans and lentils, in bulk it is affordable.
‘‘Using legumes as your protein source does make your grocery bills affordable.’’
She believed healthy people could get enough minerals and vitamins from the vegetables and legumes they ate.
DeMello hopes to branch out into talks for businesses and organisations to help them reduce illness in their workplaces.
‘‘I’d especially like to talk to people in the policymaking realm as there is not a lot of education on it.’’
Organisations needed to be more accountable for the food they bought and made available to people, she says.
Fastfood companies are noting the increasing popularity of vegan choices with Dominos announcing it will offer a vegan cheese option for a limited time to see what demand is like. Competitor Hells Pizza already offers the option. Both use a vegan cheese from Angel Food in Auckland.
Even travel companies are jumping on the vegan wagon, with Intrepid offering three new trips for 2019 dubbed Vegan Food Adventures. The trips — to India, Thailand and Italy — are aimed at culinaryminded travellers who are already on a vegan diet or who would like to try it out.