Updates on the Mediterranean diet as a case study for sustainable diets

Transcription

1 Updates on the Mediterranean diet as a case study for sustainable diets Sandro Dernini, PhD Forum on Mediterranean Food Cultures FAO Sustainable Food Systems Program

2 From an healthy dietary pattern to a sustainable diet model and an intangible heritage The Mediterranean diet, scientifically well-characterized as a healthy dietary pattern and acknowledged by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage, has also become in the past years an object of increasing studies on its sustainability.

3 The Mediterranean diet as a sustainable diet Gussow JD. (1995). Mediterranean diets: are they environmentally responsible? Am J Clin Nutr; 61(suppl):1383S-9S. Burlingame B and Dernini S. (2011). Sustainable diets: the Mediterranean diet example. Public Health Nutrition;14(12A): Medina XF. (2011) Food consumption and civil society: Mediterranean diet as a sustainable resource for the Mediterranean area, Public Health Nutrition; 14(12A): Duchin F. (2005). Sustainable consumption of food: A framework for analyzing scenarios about changes in diets. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2005; 9(1-2):

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5 In these FAO events, the Mediterranean diet was identified as the first case study for modelling the idea of sustainable diets

6 Definition of Sustainable Diets Sustainable Diets are those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable; nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; while optimizing natural and human resources. (FAO,

7 Enhancing the Sustainability of the Mediterranean Diet in the Mediterranean Region Health, nutrition and lifestyle Society and culture Environment Economy Agro-biodiversity FAO/CIHEAM-Bari, International Workshop, 2011

8 FAO/UNEP Sustainable Food Systems Program The FAO/UNEP joint programme. Development of guidelines is catalysing partnerships among for Med diet sustainability United Nations (UN) agencies, other international agencies, governments, and industry and civil society organizations whose activities can promote the essential transition to sustainability. It is a unique collaborative effort between the leading intergovernmental agencies in the areas of food, agriculture and the environment, to improve resource use efficiency and reduce the pollution intensity of food systems, from production to

9 Current Pending Issues Identify priority sustainability challenges, within the four proposed thematic areas: 1.Nutrition and health 2.Environment including agro-biodiversity 3.Economy 4.Society and culture Identify the most appropriate methodologies and indicators, taking into account the available data resources, to assess the sustainability of Mediterranean

10 From an overview of recent studies on the sustainability of the Mediterranean diet (s) In order to define the most appropriate methods and indicators to assess the sustainability of the diets in the Mediterranean area, there is a need for new cross-cutting interdisciplinary approaches to consider its health/nutrition, environment, economic, and sociocultural sustainability dimensions.

11 Selected overview of recent studies Van Dooren C, Marinussen M, Blonk H, Aiking H, Vellinga P. (2014) Exploring dietary guidelines based on ecological and nutritional values: A comparison of six dietary patterns. Food Policy; 44:36-46 Sáez Almendros S., Obrador B., Serra-Majem L. and Bach-Faig A. (2013) Environmental footprints of Mediterranean versus Western dietary patterns: beyond the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Environmental Health; 12(1):118. Dernini S, Meybeck A, Burlingame B, Gitz G, Lacirignola C, Debs P, et al. (2013) Developing a methodological approach for assessing the sustainability of diets: The Mediterranean diet as a case study. New Medit;12(3):28-36 Kesse E., Péneau G.S., Méjean C., Szabo de Edelenyi F., Galan P., Hercberg S., Lairon D. (2013). Profiles of Organic Food Consumers in a Large Sample of French Adults: Results from the Nutrinet-Sante Cohort Study. PLoS ONE 8(10):e76998 Capone R., Iannetta M, El Bilali H, Colonna N, Debs P, Dernini S, Maiani G, Intorre F, Polito A, Turrini A, Cardone G, Lorusso F, Belsanti V. (2013). A Preliminary Assessment of the Environmental Sustainability of the Current Italian Dietary Pattern: Water Footprint Related to Food Consumption. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research; 1(4): Dernini S, Meybeck A, Burlingame B, Gitz V, Lacirignola C, Capone R, et al. (2012). Towards the Development of Guidelines for Improving the Sustainability of Diets and Food Consumption Patterns in the Mediterranean Area, FAO, CIHEAM, Rome. Burlingame B, Dernini S, editors. (2012) Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity: Directions and solutions for policy, research and action. FAO and Bioversity International, Rome.

12 The erosion of the Med diet The Mediterranean diet, acknowledged by UNESCO as a cultural intangible heritage, and despite its increasing popularity worldwide and scientific interest, is for many years subject to a serious process of erosion, in all Mediterranean countries. This poses important sustainability threats to the preservation and

13 The Mediterranean sustainable diet Therefore, the acknowledgement of the Mediterranean diet as a sustainable diet requires the development of new cross-cutting studies to analyze the synergies between its healthy dietary pattern and its multidimensional sustainability impacts for the benefit of present and future generations.

14 Sustainable Med diet studies are safeguarding measures for its intangible cultural heritage Further new studies on the sustainability of the Mediterranean diet should be promoted within the development of the safeguarding measures of the Mediterranean diet, as requested by UNESCO for its inscription in the list of the intangible cultural heritages of Humankind.

15 THANK FOR YOUR ATTENTION