The international commission of scientists is composed of 37 specialists from 16 countries and included in their perfect diet foods that would improve the health of humans while taking care of the planet. According to the research, it implies increasing the consumption of nuts, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, while reducing meats and sugars.
The researchers say that if we all follow this form of nutrition, which they baptized under the name of “planetary health,” after three years more than 11 million premature deaths could be prevented each year. Also, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced, preserving land, water and biodiversity.
Tim Lang is a professor at the University of London and one of those who carried out the research. He argued that ” the food we eat and how we produce it determines the health of people and the planet, and we are currently making a serious mistake.”
They consider that if people continue to feed themselves in the way they usually do, it will not be possible to sustain it over time and that is why “a significant revision is needed, changing the global food system to a level that has not been seen before,” explains Lang.
The “ideal diet” is based on 2,500 calories per day where foods from different groups are combined to achieve a balance. The diet would include among the foods that can not be missing daily milk or its derivatives, rice, wheat, corn and other cereals, fruits and vegetables, fish, eggs, fats, legumes, nuts. Chicken and pork and veal last, these being the least recommend eating.
The creators of the project admit that the objectives are very ambitious, especially starting from the premise that inequality in the world is increasing and not everyone has access to a decent diet, and those who have it, have less capacity to choose.
According to the data provided, people living in America should reduce their consumption of meat as it exceeds it, while Asian countries should increase it by not reaching the minimum suggested by the diet. The same would happen in Africa, where they consume almost eight times the recommended amount of starchy vegetables such as potatoes.
“More than 800 million people have insufficient food, while many more consume an unhealthy diet that contributes to premature death and disease. If we can not do it, it’s better to try to get as close as we can, ” said Walter Willett of Harvard University in the United States.
In response to these postulates, the sector that consumes meat regularly in Spain maintains that the diet they support is the Mediterranean, which includes all food groups, as long as it is done in a reasonable and varied manner. They argue that the consumption of meat is non-negotiable and that it should be part of all diets to provide the iron values needed to be healthy. For this to happen, it is necessary to consume meats from 2 to 4 times per week per minimum.