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EU member states are increasingly incorporating climate change concerns into their dietary guidelines, but economic and cultural differences between countries continue to hinder an EU-wide consensus on sustainable and healthy diets.
Last week, Austria became the latest EU country to update its eating habits. Guidelinesincorporating climate impacts and making separate recommendations for vegetarians.
“Current developments, especially in the food system as a driver of climate change, require that the scope of Austrian nutrition recommendations be expanded to include climate and health parameters,” said a statement Published by the Austrian Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Consumers on July 25.
Vienna is not the only country seeking to balance sustainability and health when helping citizens make food choices, with Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden having taken similar initiatives in recent years.
Their approach and Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros, called At the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Dubai last December, there was a call for a shift to “more plant-based diets”.
We are what we eat
More than 100 countries have national dietary guidelines to promote healthy eating patterns, according to the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
All EU countries have published such documents, but their perspectives on sustainability and product consumption vary, often influenced by local food culture and traditions.
“What we eat has a lot to do not only with our culture and cuisine, but also with the society and economy in which we live,” Manuel Franco, a physician and epidemiologist at the University of Alcalá in Spain and Johns Hopkins University in the United States, told Euractiv.
A good example of this is the different recommendations on fish consumption across Europe.
although The latest Austrian guidelines recommend eating just one serving per week. Spain — the EU’s largest fish producer — called for at least three.
Franco said drafting dietary guidelines involves “tensions” between different parameters such as economics, health and sustainability, which can lead to political decisions that may favor one side or the other.
For example, Franco noted that asking Spaniards to reduce their fish consumption for sustainable development reasons would be unacceptable “both from a cultural and economic point of view.”
Alcohol is another area where guidelines vary. Greece Latest suggestionSince 2017, the government has promoted a “Mediterranean diet” that can include “moderate” daily wine drinking.
“Sometimes, decisions are made only with health in mind (…), sometimes with culture and gastronomy in mind, but not with science,” the epidemiologist said.
More or less plant-based
A common trend in the EU’s revised dietary guidelines is a greater emphasis on plant-based options at the expense of meat and dairy.
Franco said efforts to reduce animal product intake are “a big step forward” from a health and environmental perspective.
Austria’s revised recommendations limit meat and fish to once a week, or more often. This equates to 32.25 grams of meat a day – about three chicken nuggets a day.
Finland, France and Poland The recommended dosage is twice this.
Like Austria, Germany updated its guidelines in March to strongly support plant-based foods. The message is clear:When it comes to meat and sausages, less is more.
Similarly, in 2015, the Netherlands recommended eating less or no meat. Tips provided Become a vegetarian.
While the Netherlands emphasised the sustainability of plant-based alternatives relative to meat and dairy, Italy took a more cautious approach in 2018. Guidelines.
Rome singled out “some animal products,” noting that they “are still necessary” to avoid malnutrition.
The Swedish and Danish guidelines come from 2015 and 2021 And called on the public to eat less meat.
However, reducing dairy consumption also comes with trade-offs, Stockholm noted.
“Butter has a greater environmental impact than oil, but at the same time it can help enrich agricultural landscapes and biodiversity,” the guidelines state.
Code and Society
Franco warned that as dietary guidelines continue to evolve, it will be critical to ensure society follows suit. He said investment in public procurement, especially in school canteens, was the lowest hanging fruit in bringing healthy and sustainable diets closer to citizens.
Environmental NGO WWF-Europe praised the Austrian initiative and called for more public measures to encourage environmentally friendly diets. The group suggested practical measures such as lowering the price of plant-based products and improving labelling of animal welfare conditions.
“Anyone who relies solely on awareness-raising will fail in the task. Politicians must take up their own responsibility and not just outsource it to the public,” WWF said in a statement. Press release.
Franco stressed the role of social justice in sustainable development and emphasized that all citizens should have access to the best food options, regardless of their economic and social status.
“Diet and diet-related diseases in our country today remain rooted in inequality and influenced by social gradients,” he noted.
（edit Zoran Radosavljevic)
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