Dietary Change Strategies for Sustainable Diets and their Impact on Human Health, volume II

Book excerpt: In order to reduce the environmental impact of our food system, which is directly linked to international health and our sustainability targets, dietary-change strategies are a possible solution to overcome this problem. Dietary changes towards more sustainable diets globally are projected to continue in the coming decades, and at the same time are expected to have a positive impact on human health. Our current global challenge is to encourage and support healthy and balanced diets for nearly 10 billion people by 2050. More recently, we have seen the increasing popularity of innovative and sustainable concepts including plant-based ingredients or ingredients from other alternative sources (e.g. algae, single-cell protein, and insects). To encourage the continued popularity of such ingredients, we must develop sustainable, healthy, and balanced diets that incorporate and imitate the sensory experience - taste, and consistency - of familiar products, like animal products for example. Dietary changes to healthier and predominantly plant-based diets will help us to meet our global environmental targets, but these changes need to overcome potential economic (corruption, infrastructure), political (ideology, values), social (technology, lack of community support, social norms), and cultural (tradition, culture, religion) barriers.