Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Jun 12;6(6):2251-65.
doi: 10.3390/nu6062251.

Are the dietary guidelines for meat, fat, fruit and vegetable consumption appropriate for environmental sustainability? A review of the literature

Affiliations
Review

Are the dietary guidelines for meat, fat, fruit and vegetable consumption appropriate for environmental sustainability? A review of the literature

Christian John Reynolds et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

This paper reviews the current literature around the environmental impacts of dietary recommendations. The focus of the review is on collating evidence relating to environmental impacts of the dietary advice found in the World Health Organisation guidelines, and environmental impact literature: reducing the consumption of fat, reducing the consumption of meat-based protein and animal-based foods, and increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables. The environmental impact of reducing dietary fat intake is unclear, although reducing consumption of the food category of edible fats and oils appears to have little impact. However most, but not all, studies support environmental benefits of a reduced consumption of animal-based foods and increased consumption of fruit and vegetables. In general, it appears that adhering to dietary guidelines reduces impact on the environment, but further study is required to examine the environmental impacts of animal-based foods, and fruit and vegetable intake in depth.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Tukker A., Jansen B. Environmental Impacts of Products: A Detailed Review of Studies. J. Ind. Ecol. 2006;10:159–182. doi: 10.1162/jiec.2006.10.3.159. - DOI
    1. Foley J.A., Ramankutty N., Brauman K.A., Cassidy E.S., Gerber J.S., Johnston M., Mueller N.D., O’Connell C., Ray D.K., West P.C., et al. Solutions for a cultivated planet. Nature. 2011;478:337–342. doi: 10.1038/nature10452. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gussow J.D., Clancy K.L. Dietary guidelines for sustainability. J. Nutr. Educ. 1986;18:1–5. doi: 10.1016/S0022-3182(86)80255-2. - DOI
    1. Goodland R. Environmental sustainability in agriculture: Diet matters. Ecol. Econ. 1997;23:189–200. doi: 10.1016/S0921-8009(97)00579-X. - DOI
    1. Carlsson-Kanyama A. Climate change and dietary choices—How can emissions of greenhouse gases from food consumption be reduced? Food Policy. 1998;23:277–293. doi: 10.1016/S0306-9192(98)00037-2. - DOI

Publication types