a New study From the WWF (under the European Union Eat4Change Project) refutes the myth that sustainable food will significantly affect the weekly family budget. On the contrary: Switching to a more sustainable and healthy diet is good for our finances.
The potential impact of our food choices
Our food system is responsible for 21 to 37% of greenhouse gas emissions, and it is also a cause of many natural, environmental and climate problems such as deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Not only do our food choices define our environment, but they also have a huge impact on our health. Unhealthy eating habits have been linked to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Adjusting our food system is leading to a more sustainable future for ourselves and our planet. The budget available is often presented as the reason why people stop by an unhealthy, less sustainable diet. The WWF study refutes this assumption.
Towards a more flexible diet
The products that have the greatest environmental impact are of animal origin. A partial switch from animal proteins to more plant proteins is inevitable. Although our meat intake has decreased in recent years, we continue to eat twice the amount of meat recommended by our healthy diet guidelines. Specifically, the World Wildlife Fund study recommends limiting our consumption of meat to twice a week and our consumption of dairy products to three times a week. Vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts, along with alternatives to low-processed vegetables (such as soy milk, tofu, and tempeh) are good. Reducing highly processed products like snacks, soft drinks and alcohol is also on the agenda.
