“Earlene Cruz is on a mission to make people hungry for climate action every time they sit down to eat. Cruz is the Founder and Executive Director of Kitchen Connection Alliance, an entity that seeks to improve systems for growing and distributing food worldwide. She was at COP27 last November to launch the Cookbook in SupportContinue reading “A recipe for change: The Cookbook In Support of The United Nations – For People and Planet”
Author Archives: greengrass50
New evidence that ultra-processed foods may increase cancer risk: research
“A study funded by the World Cancer Research Fund and Cancer Research UK and published in eClinicalMedicine, a Lancet open access clinical journal, provides new evidence of a link between ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and an increased risk of developing cancer.” (Chang et al., 2023; Ewing-Chow, 2023). “A team from Imperial College London used UK Biobank dataContinue reading “New evidence that ultra-processed foods may increase cancer risk: research”
Climate impact labels could help promote sustainable food choices: New study
Labels placed on fast food items highlighting their high climate impact may sway consumers to make more sustainable food choices, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) (Wolfson et al., 2022). “Food accounts for around one-third of all human-made greenhouse gas emissions, with animal-based foods such as red meatContinue reading “Climate impact labels could help promote sustainable food choices: New study”
Healthy food and health: The role of pollinators and urban gardening
In a recent study by Smith et al. (2022) published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers “calculated that 3%–5% of fruit, vegetable, and nut production is lost due to inadequate pollination, leading to an estimated 427,000 (95% uncertainty interval: 86,000, 691,000) excess deaths annually from lost healthy food consumption and associated diseases. Modeled impactsContinue reading “Healthy food and health: The role of pollinators and urban gardening”
Healthy plant-based diets are better for health and the environment than unhealthy plant-based diets: New research
In a new study published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, researchers characterized the health and environmental impacts associated with high versus low scores on various plant-rich dietary indices in a U.S. cohort study. These researchers found that participants in the highest alternative healthy eating index-2010 (AHEI) and healthy plant-based diet index (PDI) score quintilesContinue reading “Healthy plant-based diets are better for health and the environment than unhealthy plant-based diets: New research”
Strategically located algae farms could increase global food production by 56% using just one-tenth of cropland: New research
According to research published in the journal Oceanography, there’s an opportunity to feed the world by farming fast-growing, low-resource, photosynthesizing algae on marginal coastal lands globally. Nutrient-rich algae, farmed along coastlines in pounds of seawater pumped up from the ocean, could produce enough food to feed 10 billion people in the next 25 years —Continue reading “Strategically located algae farms could increase global food production by 56% using just one-tenth of cropland: New research”
Plant-based animal product alternatives are healthier and more environmentally sustainable than animal products: Review
A new paper published in the journal Future Foods concludes that plant-based meat and dairy alternatives offer a healthier and more environmentally sustainable solution when compared with the animal products they are designed to replace (University of Bath, 2022). The review analyzed the results of 43 studies. In completing the review, the author evaluated theContinue reading “Plant-based animal product alternatives are healthier and more environmentally sustainable than animal products: Review”
International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (September 29, 2022): Small steps make a difference
September 29th is designated as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. It is estimated that approximately 14% of food produced in the world is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 17% of total global food production is wasted. Saving just one-fourth of the food currently lost or wasted aroundContinue reading “International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (September 29, 2022): Small steps make a difference”
Do carbon footprint labels promote climatarian diets? Evidence from a large-scale field experiment
In a recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Economics & Management, researchers from the United Kingdom (UK) assessed the causal effect of carbon footprint labelling on individual meal choices in a university cafeteria setting using a large-scale field experiment. The study allowed the scientists explicitly explore whether carbon footprint labels can induce moreContinue reading “Do carbon footprint labels promote climatarian diets? Evidence from a large-scale field experiment“
Eat more fish: new research identifies several marine species that are more nutritious and better for the planet than beef, pork, or chicken
Replacing meat with certain types of sustainably sourced seafood could help people to reduce their carbon footprints without compromising on nutrition, finds an analysis of dozens of marine species that are consumed worldwide. The study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment (Bianchi et al., 2022), “suggests that farmed bivalves — shellfish such as mussels,Continue reading “Eat more fish: new research identifies several marine species that are more nutritious and better for the planet than beef, pork, or chicken”
Sustainable RDN 