Implications of the Western Diet for Agricultural Production, Health and Climate Change

Assessment of the association of plant-based diets with cardiovascular disease risk profile in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

“…27 ► Comparator: Unhealthy dietary patterns will be the comparator assessed and will primarily consist of diets that emphasise the consumption of less healthy plant foods namely refined grains, sweets and desserts. 27 In addition to other dietary patterns which do not exclude animal foods such as red meat, high-fat dairy products and eggs (eg, lacto-ovo vegetarian), processed foods (ie, fast food intake) depicting a westernised diet 21 or the consumption of animal-derived foods.…”

Supplementation with Combined Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175 Across Development Reveals Sex Differences in Physiological and Behavioural Effects of Western Diet in Long–Evans Rats

“…These environmental experiences can alter the microbiome in a way that promotes disease development (i.e., dysbiosis) [ 4 ]. Importantly, dysbiosis can be compounded by unhealthy Western diet (i.e., a diet containing processed foods, refined grains, fats, and added sugar) [ 5 ], which has been shown to alter the microbiota composition and change how the host stores and uses energy [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Analysis of the Current Agricultural Production System, Environmental, and Health Indicators: Necessary the Rediscovering of the Pre-hispanic Mesoamerican Diet?

“…Several studies suggest that modifications toward ecologically sustainable diets could reduce diseases like diabetes or obesity, while mitigating the environmental impacts of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe), land-use change, and fossil energy consumption (Pimentel and Pimentel, 2003;Reijnders and Soret, 2003;Van Dooren et al, 2014;Behrens et al, 2017;Vega et al, 2018). Almost 20 years ago, Pimentel proposed that food production systems would be more sustainable by reducing the consumption of meat and dairy products, and including more vegetable species in overall diets.…”

“…In Mexico, the per capita consumption of carbonated non-alcoholic beverages is among the highest in the world−135 liters per person in 2013-, while 5 years ago in China, up to 46.1% of the children population consumed this type of drink (Taylor and Jacobson, 2016). As a result, in the last 40 years, a crescent association has been developing between the production of sugars (sucrose and fructose), land-use change for agricultural activities, and the increase of blood sugar, obesity, and overweight (Vega et al, 2018); moreover, several studies found a strong association between the consumption of sugary drinks and the incidence of type-2 diabetes (Gross et al, 2004;Bomback et al, 2010;Malik et al, 2010). From this data, it is clear that dietary consumption patterns influence the incidence of NCD (specifically cardiometabolic diseases; Shin et al, 2014;Huh et al, 2017), as well as agricultural production systems, which in turn negatively affect the environment by being associated with the consumption of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions, and temperature rising.…”

“…For the last 40 years, roughly 15 crops have feed the world (Harlan, 1975), and only 30 plant species have supplied 95% of human nutrition (Myers, 1985;McNeely and Wachtel, 1988). Currently, sugar cane, corn, wheat, rice, and potatoes, in that order, are the five crops that cover most of the Earth's agricultural area and, consequently, comprise the majority of the biomass destined as human food (Vega et al, 2018). It is necessary to broaden the range of species that are included in human diets and modify the production systems from intensive to extensive (Benton et al, 2003;Godfray et al, 2010).…”