There is no shortage of reasons to strive for a more sustainable diet: preservation of the environment (water, soil, climate, biodiversity), economic viability of family farms, maintenance of social ties, health...
But where to start? And why? What priorities need to be set in order to be effective and keep the changes going over time?
The aim of the "Sustainable Diets - Understand" course is to answer these questions. In three chapters, the main criteria of food sustainability are described and justified. Once I've read them, I'll know how to define sustainability, what elements make it up and why. I'll also know why some ideas about sustainability are wrong!
Two other courses complete this relatively theoretical course:
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"Taking action with an omnivorous diet", which describes how to improve the sustainability of my diet by making as few changes as possible from the current average diet,
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"Moving towards a predominantly plant-based diet", which describes how to go further by adopting a highly plant-based (but not vegan) sustainable diet.
I can start with either of these paths if I feel like taking concrete action right away, and come back to this one later, as I feel like it.
- Teacher: Content Admin
The general aim of this section is to identify the concrete changes I can make to my diet, based on the theoretical foundations of sustainability in its three dimensions. How can I make progress environmentally, socio-economically and nutritionally?
Initially, the proposed changes are minimal compared with the average population diet. The objectives of this section are to :
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Improve the environmental sustainability of my diet by reducing my consumption of animal products, choosing animal products that are less harmful to the environment, and choosing foods derived from more environmentally-friendly farming practices (chapter 1),
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Improve the sustainability of my diet from a health point of view by ensuring the overall balance of my meals and planning my intake of three important nutrients in a diet less rich in ruminant foods (vitamin B12, iodine, calcium) (chapter 2),
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Improve the socio-economic sustainability of my diet by choosing a more producer-friendly sourcing method and ensuring that my supply of fresh fruit and vegetables is of sufficient quality to support the shift of my diet towards plant-based food (chapter 3),
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Improve my daily organization to support my creativity and help me save time on all kitchen-related tasks (chapters 4 and 5).
Of all the combinations explored by humans, a very plant-based diet is the one that brings the highest environmental benefits, with the added advantage of being very economical! However, its implementation is complex, as plant foods have very different characteristics to animal foods:
- combination of proteins and carbohydrates;
- low fat content;
- lack of certain essential micronutrients.