Can Diets Be Healthy, Sustainable, and Equitable?

Fanzo, Jessica; Davis, Christopher J.

doi:10.1007/s13679-019-00362-0

Cited by 76 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…The issue addressed is mainly the following: "Can diets be healthy and sustainable?" [26], but taking into account the level of food processing, especially UPFs in diets, an issue very rarely considered in previous analyses about food system sustainability.…”

Section: Ultra-processing Environment Biodiversity and Animal Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

Ultra-Processed Foods and Food System Sustainability: What Are the Links?

2020

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Global food systems are no longer sustainable for health, the environment, animal biodiversity and wellbeing, culinary traditions, socioeconomics, or small farmers. The increasing massive consumption of animal foods has been identified as a major determinant of unsustainability. However, today, the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is also questioned. The main objective of this review is therefore to check the validity of this new hypothesis. We first identified the main ingredients/additives present in UPFs and the agricultural practices involved in their provision to agro-industrials. Overall, UPF production is analysed regarding its impacts on the environment, biodiversity, animal wellbeing, and cultural and socio-economic dimensions. Our main conclusion is that UPFs are associated with intensive agriculture/livestock and threaten all dimensions of food system sustainability due to the combination of low-cost ingredients at purchase and increased consumption worldwide. However, low-animal-calorie UPFs do not produce the highest greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) compared to conventional meat and dairy products. In addition, only reducing energy dense UPF intake, without substitution, might substantially reduce GHGEs. Therefore, significant improvement in food system sustainability requires urgently encouraging limiting UPF consumption to the benefit of mildly processed foods, preferably seasonal, organic, and local products.

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Section: Ultra-processing Environment Biodiversity and Animal Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

Ultra-Processed Foods and Food System Sustainability: What Are the Links?

2020

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“…In Brazil and Kenya, changing dietary patterns and lifestyles has reduced the diversity and availability of wild fruit and vegetables in market settings, which focus instead on a limited number of exotic crops [ 124 ]. This has led to people consuming sub-optimal diets that are increasingly unhealthy, unsustainable, and inequitable for many populations [ 125 ].…”

Section: Barriers To the Greater Use Of Wfpsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Born to Eat Wild: An Integrated Conservation Approach to Secure Wild Food Plants for Food Security and Nutrition

Borelli

Hunter

Powell

et al. 2020

Plants

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Overlooked in national reports and in conservation programs, wild food plants (WFPs) have been a vital component of food and nutrition security for centuries. Recently, several countries have reported on the widespread and regular consumption of WFPs, particularly by rural and indigenous communities but also in urban contexts. They are reported as critical for livelihood resilience and for providing essential micronutrients to people enduring food shortages or other emergency situations. However, threats derived from changes in land use and climate, overexploitation and urbanization are reducing the availability of these biological resources in the wild and contributing to the loss of traditional knowledge associated with their use. Meanwhile, few policy measures are in place explicitly targeting their conservation and sustainable use. This can be partially attributed to a lack of scientific evidence and awareness among policymakers and relevant stakeholders of the untapped potential of WFPs, accompanied by market and non-market barriers limiting their use. This paper reviews recent efforts being undertaken in several countries to build evidence of the importance of WFPs, while providing examples of cross-sectoral cooperation and multi-stakeholder approaches that are contributing to advance their conservation and sustainable use. An integrated conservation approach is proposed contributing to secure their availability for future generations.

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“…A recent study demonstrated that diets in different populations are “unhealthy, unsustainable, and unequitable” ( Fanzo and Davis, 2019 ). As abovementioned, people are eating “unhealthy,” with high intake of sugar and fats.…”

Section: Obesogenic Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environment and Gene Association With Obesity and Their Impact on Neurodegenerative and Neurodevelopmental Diseases

2020

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Obesity is a multifactorial disease in which environmental conditions and several genes play an important role in the development of this disease. Obesity is associated with neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer, Parkinson, and Huntington diseases) and with neurodevelopmental diseases (autism disorder, schizophrenia, and fragile X syndrome). Some of the environmental conditions that lead to obesity are physical activity, alcohol consumption, socioeconomic status, parent feeding behavior, and diet. Interestingly, some of these environmental conditions are shared with neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases. Obesity impairs neurodevelopment abilities as memory and fine-motor skills. Moreover, maternal obesity affects the cognitive function and mental health of the offspring. The common biological mechanisms involved in obesity and neurodegenerative/neurodevelopmental diseases are insulin resistance, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and oxidative damage, among others, leading to impaired brain development or cell death. Obesogenic environmental conditions are not the only factors that influence neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases. In fact, several genes implicated in the leptin–melanocortin pathway ( LEP , LEPR , POMC , BDNF , MC4R , PCSK1 , SIM1 , BDNF , TrkB , etc.) are associated with obesity and neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases. Moreover, in the last decades, the discovery of new genes associated with obesity ( FTO, NRXN3, NPC1, NEGR1, MTCH2, GNPDA2 , among others) and with neurodegenerative or neurodevelopmental diseases ( APOE, CD38, SIRT1, TNF α, PAI-1, TREM2, SYT4, FMR1, TET3 , among others) had opened new pathways to comprehend the common mechanisms involved in these diseases. In conclusion, the obesogenic environmental conditions, the genes, and the interaction gene–environment would lead to a better understanding of the etiology of these diseases.

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Can Diets Be Healthy, Sustainable, and Equitable?

Cited by 76 publications

References 66 publications

Ultra-Processed Foods and Food System Sustainability: What Are the Links?

Ultra-Processed Foods and Food System Sustainability: What Are the Links?

Born to Eat Wild: An Integrated Conservation Approach to Secure Wild Food Plants for Food Security and Nutrition

Environment and Gene Association With Obesity and Their Impact on Neurodegenerative and Neurodevelopmental Diseases

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