Dairy products are an important part of sustainable nutrition
Various studies show that dairy products play an important role in the sustainable diet of the future. This is because they provide many nutrients which can be challenging to obtain from other food sources.
What is a sustainable diet?
A sustainable diet benefits both the planet and its people.
Currently, a lot of research is focused on sustainability, including how to make our diets more climate-friendly for the benefit of the climate, the planet and its population.
This research explores which specific foods should be included in a sustainable diet that is not only healthy but also contains essential nutrients. At the same time, studies also indicate that a diet must not cost more than what consumers already spend on food. Another important criterion is that the diet has a composition that aligns with the consumers' existing dietary habits and food culture.
Two interesting studies on the topic are discussed below.
The effect of climate change can be reduced by approximately one third
One study from 2016 found that the French population could reduce the climate impact of their food and beverages by about one-third with relatively simple changes. To meet this goal, it would require the French to eat more vegetables and fruits, eat less meat and drink less alcohol. However, they should not reduce their intake of dairy products. The reason for this is that, without dairy, the diet will not meet nutrient recommendations.
This sustainable diet is compatible with the French people’s current eating habits and will cost roughly the same amount of money that they spend on food today.
If the aim is to change the diet so that the climate impact is reduced by more than a third, the solutions will go beyond what is culturally acceptable in a French context.
LiveWell for Life – a project by WWF
The second research project, called "LiveWell for Life", is a collaboration between a university in Scotland, WWF World Wildlife Fund and several other organisations. The research focused on different European countries, and calculated how the diet could be composed to lower the climate impact while remaining economically available and living up to nutrient recommendations.
Like the French study, this research concluded that a shift to a more sustainable diet requires the population to eat less meat and increase the intake of protein-rich legumes, such as beans, pulses and peas. In addition, the population should also increase their intake of fruits, vegetables and cereal products. This study also concludes that the intake of dairy products should remain at the current level to ensure that the diet contains all the nutrients the body needs.
Conclusion
Consumers are increasingly more interested in changing their diet so that it becomes more climate-friendly and sustainable. Several studies conclude that dairy products should remain as a part of the future sustainable diet to ensure that consumers still have a healthy and nutritional diet.
If you want to transition to a more sustainable diet, it is important that you do not cut back on your consumption of dairy products.