Sustainable diets & Sustainable Development Goals
The topic of sustainable and healthy food patterns is on the agenda worldwide. The term ‘
Sustainable diet’ encompasses health and environmental aspects of food patterns. The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) gives the following definition:
'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 optimising natural and human resources'.
This connects to the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), defined by the United Nations in 2015, which is a set of 17 goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. The second goal within the SDGs is related to the topic of sustainable diets. It is focused on ‘
Zero hunger’ and includes
‘End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’. A closer look at the SDGs tells us that nutrition is actually a vital precondition to achieve 8 out of the 17 goals.