March 4, 2024 is World Obesity Day. This year’s Obesity Atlas, published by the World Obesity Federation, reveals that “No area of the world is unaffected by the consequences of Obesity,” and that: “Rising rates of obesity rates across the world reveal massive gaps in healthcare and nutrition, with poorest populations most adversely affected.” TheContinue reading “World Obesity Atlas 2024: No area of the world is unaffected by the consequences of obesity”
Category Archives: Ag, Food, & Nutrition Policy
Towards a more holistic understanding of sustainable diets: An ecological public health approach
According to a recent scoping review titled, “Global dietary patterns are not sustainable” published in the journal Nutrition Reviews, a more holistic understanding of the concept ‘sustainable diets’ is needed. There is broad consensus that consumers must be encouraged to shift toward sustainable diets, defined by Burlingame and Dermini (2010) as: “diets with low environmentalContinue reading “Towards a more holistic understanding of sustainable diets: An ecological public health approach”
Environmental and land use consequences of replacing milk and beef with plant-based alternatives: New study
In a new study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production (Costa et al., 2023), researchers investigated the environmental consequences of two independent yet interconnected diet choices in a German context: (i) replacing dairy milk with soy milk, and (ii) replacing beef meatballs with pea protein balls. They related commodity demand to detailed agricultural rotationsContinue reading “Environmental and land use consequences of replacing milk and beef with plant-based alternatives: New study”
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”
Ultra-processed foods should be central to global food systems dialogue and action on biodiversity
A recent commentary article published BMJ Global Health (2022) points out that, “The global industrial food system and consequent rapid rise of ultra-processed foods is severely impairing biodiversity. Yet although the impacts of existing land use and food production practices on biodiversity have received much attention, the role of ultra-processed foods has been largely ignored.Continue reading “Ultra-processed foods should be central to global food systems dialogue and action on biodiversity“
UN Report: Global hunger numbers rose to as many as 828 million in 2021
The latest State of Food Security and Nutrition report (2022) shows the world is moving backwards in efforts to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. “The number of people affected by hunger globally rose to as many as 828 million in 2021, an increase of about 46 million since 2020 and 150 million since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to aContinue reading “UN Report: Global hunger numbers rose to as many as 828 million in 2021”
Sustainable RDN 