According to an article published in medical journal The Lancet, humanity urgently needs to start re-evaluating and changing its diet. Humans have to cut down their meat and sugar consumption by 50% and instead double their consumption of fruits, vegetables and nuts, 37 scientists from 16 different countries argue in the ground-breaking report.
Current eating habits exceed the capacities of our planet and cause many serious diseases. Humanity and planet Earth are at risk, the report stresses. Co-author Tim Lang from London University deemed the current situation “catastrophic.” The way we eat is one of the main reasons behind climate change, waning biodiversity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
Johan Rockström, another co-author from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, argued that it was crucial for humanity to adopt a healthy and sustainable diet, reduce food waste and invest in new green technologies. If the deplorable status quo is maintained, it will be impossible to feed 10 billion people in 2050, he said.
When it comes to meat, it is highly recommended to eat less than 14 grams of red meat per day. To give you an example: a typical burger usually has between 125 and 150 grams of red meat. Daily consumption of dairy products should also not exceed 250 grams. Two eggs per week are ideal and the consumption of fruits, vegetables and nuts should be increased by 100%, experts argue.
The food industry greeted the report with harsh criticism. According to the general secretary of the European milk industry umbrella organisation EDA, the report relied on extreme claims in order to get maximum attention. Christopher Snowdon from London’s Institute of Economic Affairs criticised the report even more harshly: “Most people will look at these demands – concocted by activist-academics and taxpayer-funded UN bureaucrats – and laugh, but I welcome this report because it reveals the full agenda of nanny state campaigners. They are making no secret of their desire to tax and ban their way towards a near-vegan diet for the world’s population.”
On the other hand, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development argued that national governments should do everything in their power to help accelerate the change in thinking by implementing new dietary guidelines and restructuring agricultural subsidies.
