Have you ever thought about finding an insect-based dish on the menu at your favorite restaurant? Or have you stopped to think about making your post-workout snack with an ant flour snack? No, we are not talking about exotic recipes, but about sustainable food.
Until recently, a diet that included insects was seen as a future possibility. Recently, however, the European Union approved the use of insect meal in food: As of January 24, 2023, cricket flour can be used in the European market in products such as bread, crackers, soups, and meat substitutes.
However, when we talk about sustainability in the food sector, we are not just referring to insect-based foods. The concept is much broader and refers to the health of people on the one hand and the health of the world in which we live on the other.
What is meant by sustainable food?
The term sustainable diet refers to a diet low environmental impact that favors greater food safety in terms of quantity and quality. The goal is to ensure a healthy life for present and future generations.
The term "sustainability" indicates the ability to preserve the balance of an ecosystem over time. Talking about food and sustainability, therefore, requires responsibility with the environment and respect by ourselves and for the new generations.
Sustainable eating translates into attention to consumption habits. This trend goes through the choice of fresh foods both because they are healthier and because they do not require processing with a negative impact on the environment.
Specifically, in recent yearsFlexitarianism has spread among Millennials and Generation Z, that is, the reduction of meat consumption in favor of vegetables, cereals and legumes.
Sustainable diets contribute to the protection and respect of biodiversity and ecosystems. They are culturally acceptable, they are economically equitable and accessible, they are nutritionally adequate, safe and sound. At the same time they optimize natural and human resources.
But how to recognize sustainable products? What specifically are the health and environmental benefits? In other words: how to eat sustainably?
What are sustainable products?
"Eating well starts at home," says Patrick Holde, managing director of the charity Sustainable Food Trust. It is himself, as a promoter of a diet Verde and sustainable, who draws up a list of Solutions with the ideal characteristics for a healthy diet that respects the planet.
How to eat sustainably: recommended foods
- Oats: its consumption is highly recommended, especially when grown without the use of artificial fertilizers. Also, being produced in Italy, it can be a valid substitute for imported American corn.
- Local and seasonal vegetables: When it comes to agriculture, the accent must be placed on one of its fundamental components: horticulture. It deals with the cultivation of plants according to the Seasonal. A sustainable diet and organic farming consists of products fresh and in season. They are readily available at local farmers' markets. It is important to follow the seasonality and vary the type of food of vegetable origin to make the most of all the substances with antioxidant action. And let's remember: strawberries grown in plastic tunnels heated in February do not respect nature!
- Mussels and clams: In addition to being nutrient dense, these mollusks are very good at sequestering carbon and therefore purifying seawater. They are sustainable because they prevent agricultural residues from reaching the sea, transforming them into nutrients. In addition, they favor biodiversity maintenance, whose progressive disappearance is one of the consequences of climate change. If you are interested in more information about biodiversity, you can visit this article on types of biodiversity.
- Vegetables: as we know, they are rich in nutrients and in many cases they can also replace the proteins of red meat (find out why it is better to avoid it). They also have the ability to self-fertilize the soil in a completely biological way, without causing the damage that chemical fertilizers generally cause.
- Algae: are part of the group superfoods both for its powerful nutritional properties and for its capacity to absorb carbon dioxide. The algae, in fact, need nitrogen and phosphate to grow, so they can transform the company's waste into nutrients. Thus, they contribute to the reduction of ocean acidification and allow microorganisms and marine life to thrive.
- Insects: food of the future? The western world has been affected by this culinary revolution which will lead, in 2030, to the production of some 260.000 tons of insect-based products. They have a 70% protein percentage (2-3 times higher than red meat) and its upbringing saves water and energy. To date, 28% of Italian respondents are inclined to try them, 44,5% would like to try ants and 22% are willing to eat them disguised as snacks, bars or flour to make pasta.
What are the rules for following a sustainable diet?
The sustainable diet has no commandments to follow. Rather, it is about learning to make decisions that protect the environment. In this sense, WWF has prepared a list of tips to be able to give the first steps in this direction:
- He prefers local products. As has been said, choosing products of 0 km It allows to reduce costs and the environmental impact derived from the steps between producers and consumers. In addition, local products are products coffees that guarantee the conservation of the ecosystem.
- Reduce meat consumption: Did you know that most intensive farms emit high amounts of carbon dioxide? It's better to choose plant-based or fish-derived proteins. It's also interesting to know how this relates to the global warming.
- Pay attention to the type of fish you buy: After the exploitation of the oceans, the amount of fish available has also decreased due to the constant growth of the world population, especially in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Reduce food waste: it is estimated that every day is wasted 8.100 millones de euros due to wasted food, which is equivalent to about 6.000 billion tons of food. Better to learn to freeze leftovers and not fall into the traps of supermarkets, which often push consumers to buy more than necessary.
- Do not buy products with excessive packaging: plastic constitutes 40% of the waste. For the same reason, therefore, it is preferable to drink tap water by reducing the purchase of plastic bottles.
- Contain energy waste in the kitchen. If you use the oven, for example, it is recommended optimize cooking cooking several foods at the same time and finishing it with the oven off. If, on the other hand, you use the stove, it is good to remember to cover the pots and pans with tapas main course.
How to make a sustainable purchase?
We asked our collaborator Matteo Boschini, dietician and expert in food education, for practical advice to reduce food waste and have a sustainable diet.
- The first thing you should do is plan your purchases: Having a shopping list will allow you to buy only what is strictly necessary, preventing extra food from spoiling. A favor for the environment and for your finances.
- Store food correctly. In particular, it is important to distinguish the expiration date of the minimum retention period. fresh foods o Foods that contain raw ingredients have the phrase » better before » followed by a date close in time. This is the date beyond which the product should not be consumed for health and hygiene reasons. If the packaging bears the words » consume before » followed by a later date, this is a long lasting food In this case, the date indicates the moment in which the product may have changed some of its organoleptic characteristics, but it can be consumed without health risks.
- Follow the first in, first out rule: the products that enter the fridge or the house first should also be the first to be consumed. This little trick will help you consume each product avoiding any type of leftovers.
What are the benefits of sustainable eating?
Sustainable food is the model healthy eating by excellence. Both the Mediterranean diet (recognized in 2010 by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity) and the flexitarian diet can fall into this category. In fact, these are diets that provide benefits in terms of health, prevent chronic pathologies and determine positive effects in the sociocultural, economic and environmental fields.
So, what are the 4 benefits that sustainable food brings to man and the environment?
- Improved Health: A healthy diet lowers the risk of heart disease and other morbid conditions. In addition, various studies have revealed a reduction in some tumors and some chronic-degenerative diseases (such as obesity).
- Respect for the enviroment: a sustainable diet has a 60% less environmental impact than a diet based on animal meats and fats. This because:
- the production of cereals, fruits, vegetables and legumes requires a less intensive use of land and water and greenhouse gas emissions Faced with a food model based mainly on the consumption of foods of animal origin;
- respect for seasonality translates into a reduction of greenhouse crops;
- The Biodiversity It is maintained through the use of different crops in each area and crop rotation.
- Strengthening ties between people and with the territory: Thanks to a daily ritual that manifests itself through the preparation of the table or favorite dishes, a greater food awareness is acquired. The 0 km choices help favor the food present in the territory itself, empowering it.
- Economy: adopting a healthy and sustainable eating model leads to obtaining:
- a reduction in health spending for the health benefits of this food model;
- a reduction in household spending through the predominant consumption of plant and seasonal foods, cheaper than out-of-season foods and foods of animal origin;
- la valuing of companies thanks to the diffusion of the consumption of typically Mediterranean foods (oil, wine, pasta, bread), generating income and employment for companies and small local producers;
- la enhancement of the territory due to the great agro-eno-gastronomic offer.
Conclusions
How food is produced, what is consumed and how much is lost strongly affect the health of people and the planet. It is estimated (and expected) that all with 2050, 10 billion people they will have started to follow a healthy and sustainable diet. This would prevent environmental degradation (already ongoing and out of control) and help save the lives of about 11 million people a year.
Therefore, urgent action is needed to ensure that future generations do not inherit a severely degraded planet and suffer from malnutrition or preventable diseases. Correcting bad habits is, therefore, the first step in building a better world.