Food production exhausts the environmental systems of the planet

Even if the world stops burning coal, oil and gas tomorrow, the production of what we eat will remain sufficient to raise the climate temperature to more than 1.5 ° C. This is the blatant warning from the Eight Lancet committee, a committee that includes more than 70 prominent worlds around the world, which recently published a comprehensive evaluation of how to destabilize the eating habits of the planet’s stability.

Nearly a third of global global warming emissions come from food production, including methane gas produced by livestock, forests that are cut to feed animals, and fossil energy used in the fertilizer industry.

The damage is not limited to emissions, as food systems are now the main cause of transgressing humanity for the safe operating space on the ground, which are environmental barriers known as the “planet’s boundaries”, which leads to the loss of biological diversity, land degradation, fresh water scarcity, and soil pollution.

Shocking results

The Swedish scientist Johann Roxterom, who participated in the chairmanship of the committee, said that “the results are shocking”, explaining that “food alone is enough to push us to more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, but food is also able to help us return.”

The main argument for scientists is that it is still possible to feed about 10 billion people a healthy diet within the scope of the safe operation of the Earth, and it is a challenge that food systems are unable to confront today even under the current population levels.

The “global healthy diet”, which scientists significantly propose, depends on fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts, with modest amounts of dairy products, poultry and fish, and much lower amounts of red and processed meat.

Scientists estimate that following this pattern can prevent up to 15 million early deaths every year, while reducing food -related emissions by more than half.

Scientists have estimated the annual cost of this pattern by between 200 billion and 500 billion dollars.

Food changes

For his part, the epidemic scientist at Harvard University and Walter Willet, who also participated in the chairmanship of the committee, stressed that the matter is not related to imposing a “semi -vegetable lifestyle”, noting that the diet can be adapted to local traditions – from the Mediterranean Sea to Asia – but the general trend is clear: more plants, and reduce meat and sugar.

A large part of this message is not new, as the 2019 Eight Lancet committee report called for comprehensive food changes, especially in Europe and North America, where meat consumption and dairy products exceeded international standards. What changed is the weight of evidence, and the feeling that politics has moved in the opposite direction.

The 2019 version topped the headlines of the international newspapers and sparked a violent reaction by those interested in meat and dairy products. Public relations companies and academics associated with the industry described the proposals of “Ait Lancet” as elitist, unrealistic or hostile to farmers. Welit said that there is “a paid attempt again … this time to discredit the results.”

The green deal

Europe embodies the ambition and retreat at the same time. The original “Ait Lancet” study was included directly in the European Union strategy “from the farm to the table”, which was launched in 2020 as part of the green deal set by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Line.

The plan promised to make the diet in Europe “fair, healthy and environmentally friendly” by reducing the use of pesticides in half, lowering fertilizers, expanding organic agriculture, and promoting healthy diets.

After five years, the era of the strategy “From the Farm to the Table” ended.

Instead, the Union has returned to its usual battles on whether a maximum should be to support farms, how to deal with imports from Ukraine or Latin America, and how angry farmers in France, Germany and Poland are calm. This comes at a time when European Union scientists themselves warn that agriculture is the main driver of losing biological diversity, water degradation and soil, but while Europe has declined, the continent also bears a large part of the burden of environmental damage caused by food systems, which is confirmed by the results of the report that indicates that the richest of the world’s population is more than 70% of these damage.

The scientist Walter Welt said: “If the fast -growing economies adopt Western food systems rich in meat, this is the way to an environmental and health disaster,” said Walter Willet. About «Politico»

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Pressure factor

The Eight Lancet Committee confirmed that food is a pressure factor, not just a burden, as scientists estimate that rapid transformations in diets, agriculture and waste practices can be achieved about five trillion dollars annually of health and environmental benefits.

“Food is the essence of the welfare of man and the health of the planet, and we must guarantee the right to food, fair work and a healthy environment for everyone.”

• The proposed global health diet depends on fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts with modest amounts of dairy, poultry, fish and much lower amounts of red meat.