With the increasing population, the need for food has increased. However, the decrease in the world's resources, unconsciously increasing consumption and food waste endanger future generations after us. Sustainable nutrition is a low-environmental impact diet that contributes to food and nutrition security for future generations.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF FOOD PRODUCTION
Food production and consumption are the main causes of environmental degradation are among the reasons. It is stated that agriculture covers 48% of global land use and 30% of greenhouse gas formation is caused by agricultural activities. Animal production, on the other hand, covers 30% of the world's terrestrial areas and causes 25-40% of the total greenhouse gas formation.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO FOR HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE NUTRITION?
DO NOT WASTE NUTRITION!
While 820 million people are struggling with hunger on the planet we live in, death rates are increasing due to overweight and obesity. This imbalance in our diet causes the production of more food than we need and increases food waste.
Approximately 88 million tons of food is thrown away in Europe every year. Waste occurs at all stages of the food chain such as production, processing, storage, sales and at the end consumer. In fact, green vegetables suffer a loss of approximately 45% until they reach the consumer. Almost half of the produced crop is lost before it reaches the table. Not only that, even the food that is consumed with the intention of not going to waste is considered a waste because taking more than our body needs is also one of the causes of waste.
In order to prevent this waste, a method that can help reduce food losses and waste should be followed. Thus, increasing food demand will be met in a healthy and sustainable way.
REGULATORY YOUR NUTRITION!
Research has shown that dietary change is the best way to increase the sustainability of nutritional systems. proved to be one of the most powerful ways. Of course, there is no diet that we can generalize for every individual, but Even the small changes we will make in our culture will contribute to sustainable nutrition.
Meat has a great place in our nutrition culture, especially in the Central Anatolian region. You can start by changing that. The production of animal food requires more resources than the production of plant food (such as land use, water consumption and CO2 emissions per unit of production). As a result, it has more negative effects on the environment. Only plant-based nutrition is not a solution either. The important thing is to consume foods of animal origin such as meat, dairy products, eggs, without wasting and as much as we need. In addition, eating mostly plant-based foods is a very good option for sustainable nutrition and to improve general health status (blood pressure, cholesterol, cancer, etc.). Small steps, such as choosing fruit with the remaining half consisting mostly of plant protein sources and whole grains, can dramatically change the environmental consequences of nutrition at a global level.
Read: 0
