Healthy eating for a
sustainable future.
Eat [real] food.
Not too much.
Mostly plants.
Michael Pollan
In defence of food.
In brief:
A diet that is best for your health is
also
….. a diet that is best for the health of
our planet.
What is wrong with the way
we eat?
What is wrong with the way
we eat?
The western diet is both bad for us and
bad for the environment.
What is wrong with the way
we eat?
The western diet is not only bad for us,
it is also bad for the environment.
Put simply:
There is too much animal protein.
There is a dependency on industrial farming.
There is too much processed (refined) food.
What is wrong with the way
we eat?
The western diet is not only bad for us,
it is also bad for the environment.
Put simply:
There is too much animal protein.
There is a dependency on industrial farming.
There is too much processed (refined) food.
The diet that is best for us exactly matches
that which is best for the environment.
A reminder that global warming is on the way…
Too much protein
Too much protein
Isn’t a lot of protein really good for us?
• No! This is advertising hype.
• This excess is mainly of animal origin.
•Animal protein production is very environmentally
damaging.
Too much protein
Isn’t a lot of protein really good for us?
Our protein requirements are quite modest.
• Excess protein is not stored - broken down -
reconstituted as fat.
• Protein requirements for growing children and
super athletes are only marginally increased.
• Most need about 0.75g/kg/day – 60g per adult
male.
Too much protein
Isn’t a lot of protein really good for us?
Our protein requirements are quite modest.
Plants are good sources of protein.
• Animal products are not the sole source.
• Lentils, pulses, grains and nuts are excellent
sources, some exceeding animal meat.
• Red kidney beans 23.6% protein; chuck steak
19.5%
Too much protein
Isn’t a lot of protein really good for us?
Our protein requirements are quite modest.
Plants are good sources of protein.
Animal protein composition is not superior
to plant protein.
Vegetable protein has all the amino acids that are
required for human health.
Too much protein
Isn’t a lot of protein really good for us?
Our protein requirements are quite modest.
Plants are good sources of protein.
Animal protein composition is not superior
to plant protein.
Fruit and vegetables contain lots of K.
Increasing dietary potassium is probably more
important than lowering sodium in blood pressure
control.
The Australian food chart - MHMRC:
The recommendations
from the CSIRO total
wellbeing diet book are
very different from this.
A look a the list of
sponsors will
give you a clue.
The truth is that we don’t
need all that animal
based food. It is good for
business but not for us!
Further thoughts on animal protein
consumption:
Further thoughts on animal protein
consumption:
Medical problems associated with red meat.
• Meats, particularly red meat, even lean red meat,
has lots of saturated fat, a major factor in heart
disease.
• Red meat and processed meat is associated with a
higher rate of some cancers, particularly bowel
cancer.
Further thoughts on animal protein
consumption:
Medical problems associated with red meat.
Dairy products are not health foods.
• Many dairy products have high levels of saturated fats.
• Calcium from dairy products does not necessarily promote
good bone health.
• American Academy of Pediatrics (2005), states "Scant
evidence supports nutrition guidelines focused specifically on
increasing milk or other dairy product intake for promoting
child and adolescent bone mineralization”
• Most countries with high dairy intake have high levels of
osteoporosis.
• The major problem is low vitamin D levels.
Comparative Vitamin D levels
Further thoughts on animal protein
consumption:
Medical problems associated with red meat.
Dairy products are not health foods.
Meat is not essential for brain development
• The theory that early man required a meat filled diet to allow
the evolution of large brains is deeply flawed.
• We really don’t know what early man ate.
• Evidence of vegetable or insect foods consumption is not
preserved.
• The development of cooking was probably much more
important.
Further thoughts on animal protein
consumption:
Medical problems associated with red meat.
Dairy products are not health foods.
Meat is not essential for brain development
Eating less animal based food is good for
your health.
• Controlled studies of vegetarians show better health,
particularly heart disease.
• However, most vegetarian don’t eat a lot of processed
carbohydrate.
The livestock industry as it is currently run is
an ecological disaster
Generating animal protein is a highly inefficient
It requires 5 to 10 feed calories for one food calorie
output.
The livestock industry as it is currently run is
an ecological disaster
Generating animal protein is a highly inefficient
Forest destruction occurs on a massive scale.
Vast areas of forest have been destroyed for cattle
pasture, particularly in the Amazon.
The livestock industry as it is currently run is
an ecological disaster
Generating animal protein is a highly inefficient
Forest destruction occurs on a massive scale.
It is a major cause of land degradation.
This includes soil erosion, contamination with
chemicals and loss of biodiversity.
The livestock industry as it is currently run is
an ecological disaster
Generating animal protein is a highly inefficient
Forest destruction occurs on a massive scale.
It is a major cause of land degradation.
It causes large scale pollution.
• Contamination by chemicals and eutrophication.
• Ruminants are a major source of methane.
The livestock industry as it is currently run is
an ecological disaster
Generating animal protein is a highly inefficient
Forest destruction occurs on a massive scale.
It is a major cause of land degradation.
It causes large scale pollution.
Intensive livestock production promotes superbugs.
• Harmful bacteria arise from intensive animal production from
antibiotic - antiseptic use & feeding practices – MRSA, VRE,
E coli O157/H7
• Pandemic viruses from pigs (H1N1) poultry (H5N1)
Environmental damage of industrial agriculture
Algal red tides
Environmental damage of industrial agriculture
Jellyfish swarms are
increasing rapidly.
Jellyfish have little
nutritional value.
They reduce fish catches.
The causes:
-excessive nutrients
-loss of predators from
industrial scale fishing.
This is a photograph,
not a drawing.
The Green Revolution
The green revolution = fossil fuel revolution
The Green Revolution
The green revolution = fossil fuel revolution
The green revolution (industrial farming) only partly
depends on better crop varieties.
The Green Revolution
The green revolution = fossil fuel revolution
The green revolution (industrial farming) only partly
depends on better crop varieties.
Without fossil fuel powered machinery, fossil fuel
based fertilizers, herbicides/insecticides and fossil
fuel powered irrigation, yields from industrial
agriculture would plummet.
The Green Revolution
The green revolution = fossil fuel revolution
The green revolution (industrial farming) only partly
depends on better crop varieties.
Without fossil fuel powered machinery, fossil fuel
based fertilizers, herbicides/insecticides and fossil
fuel powered irrigation, yields from industrial
agriculture would plummet.
For every calorie of food produced using industrial
agricultural techniques on average about 10 calories
of (fossil fuel) energy are required.
Animal based foods are powered by fossil fuel!
Animal based foods
compared to foods
from plants require a
lot of fossil fuel.
The energy to produce
1kg of beef is
equivalent to driving a
medium car for 160km.
Threats associated with industrial
agriculture
Peak oil
• Peak oil is real.
• We will require fossil fuel to power our organic
farming; we should not be wasting it on nonessential activities.
• We should move away from fossil fuel dependent
fertilizers and herbicides/pesticides.
Threats associated with industrial
agriculture
Peak oil
Peak water
• Industrial agriculture is very thirsty.
• Many areas are consuming non-renewable fossil
water - India, northern China, S-W USA
• Huge areas of the Indian subcontinent and China/
western South America are dependent on glacial
melt.
Threats associated with industrial
agriculture
Peak oil
Peak water
Monocultures
• Loss of biodiversity
• Plant disease epidemics (Ug99 of wheat, Panama
disease Race 4 of Cavendish bananas, mosaic
disease of Cassava).
• Loss of farms and farmers, accelerating the loss of
crop diversity.
Processed (industrial) food.
The hand maiden of industrial agriculture…
Processed (industrial) food.
The hand maiden of industrial agriculture…
real food is broken down into its basic
components and then reassembled into
food like substances…..
Processed (industrial) food.
The hand maiden of industrial agriculture…
real food is broken down into its basic
components and then reassembled into
food like substances…..
then filled with artificial flavourings and
colourings, with boosted fats, sugars and
salt to promote addiction to these products..
Processed (industrial) food.
The hand maiden of industrial agriculture…
real food is broken down into its basic
components and then reassembled into
food like substances…..
then filled with artificial flavourings and
colourings, with boosted fats, sugars and
salt to promote addiction to these products..
and finally fortified with various vitamins
and additives in a flawed attempt to make
them as nutritious as natural foods.
Why is processed food so common?
There is big money to be made and is
readily integrated with industrial
farming systems.
Why is processed food so common?
There is big money to be made and is
readily integrated with industrial
farming systems.
Processed food dramatically reduces
the number of basic ingredients, which
are then produced on a massive scale
directly reducing raw material cost and
in turn increasing profits.
What is the problem with processed
food?
Loss of variety of food types
Processed food = Industrial agriculture
= Progressive loss of varieties of food
types and animals
What is the problem with processed
food?
Loss of variety of food types
Increased fat and salt
• Saturated fat is still a major risk factor in cardiac
disease, and its incidence has not really
decreased. (Mortality has fallen with better medical
care.)
• Trans fats in the replacement vegetable oils are
even worse than saturated fats.
• Excess salt is still an important factor in
hypertension.
What is the problem with processed
food?
Loss of variety of food types
Increased fat and salt
Large intakes of refined carbohydrates
• Associated with the metabolic syndrome and type
II diabetes
• Replacing saturated fat with refined carbohydrates
has been an disaster.
• Lazy vegetarians - replace meat with refined
carbohydrates – probably a very bad move.
What is the problem with processed
food?
Loss of variety of food types
Increased fat and salt
Large intakes of refined carbohydrates
Addiction to these foods
• The addition of lots of saturated fat, salt
and sugar causes food addiction and
obesity.
• Sweetness increases appetite, making
artificial sweeteners counterproductive.
What is the problem with processed
food?
Loss of variety of food types
Increased fat and salt
Large intakes of refined carbohydrates
Addiction to these foods
Excessive packaging
Think of soft drinks. Oceans of plastic
waste contaminating of food chain.
What is the problem with processed
food?
Loss of variety of food types
Increased fat and salt
Large intakes of refined carbohydrates
Addiction to these foods
Excessive packaging
Overall food consumption goes up
further adding to our carbon foot print.
Many a true word said in jest…..
So what should we do?
So what should we do?
Eat a diet that contains mostly plant based
foods.
So what should we do?
Eat a diet that contains predominantly plant
based foods.
Use animal based foods as condiments.
If you do want meat, eat chicken rather than red
meats. Use diary foods sparingly.
So what should we do?
Eat a diet that contains predominantly plant
based foods.
Use animal based foods as condiments.
Avoid processed foods which can be easily
identified by the number of ingredients,
health claims, excessive packaging.
So what should we do?
Eat a diet that contains predominantly plant
based foods.
Use animal based foods as condiments.
Avoid processed foods which are easily
identified by the number of ingredients,
health claims, excessive packaging.
Don’t waste food - In Australia, $5.6
billion/year is thrown away.
It is OK to eat left overs but store them carefully.
Use a shopping list.
Eat at home.
So what should we do?
Eat a diet that contains predominantly plant
based foods.
Use animal based foods as condiments.
Avoid processed foods which are easily
identified by the number of ingredients,
health claims, excessive packaging.
Don’t waste food - In Australia, $5.6
billion/year is thrown away.
Eat out less, have fewer take-aways.
So what should we do?
Eat a diet that contains predominantly plant
based foods.
Use animal based foods as condiments.
Avoid processed foods which are easily
identified by the number of ingredients,
health claims, excessive packaging.
Don’t waste food - In Australia, $5.6
billion/year is thrown away.
Eat out less, have fewer take-aways.
Spread the word - act to save the world.
The final word…..
All the information in this lecture can be
viewed in greater detail on my web site
www.eateco.org
It is a fully referenced scientifically based
analysis.
Ask not only what your food does for you,
but also what your food does to the world.