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The decision to adopt a certain diet can be driven by various motivations. For some time, the focus has been on achieving an ideal weight, but today there is a growing concern for other aspects. Health is the top priority for many people who understand that their well-being depends on what they eat, but the environment is also a factor. So much so that sustainability has emerged as a guiding principle in contemporary food trends.
What we choose to eat has a significant impact on pollution. According to the findings presented in the scientific journal Nature Food[1], as much as one-third of CO2 emissions can be traced back to food production.
Several diets have therefore emerged that are designed to safeguard the planet, as well as personal health.
Many experts recommend opting for a sustainable diet. For instance, the EAT Lancet scientific committee[2] presented a diet geared precisely towards human health and food sustainability.
This doesn’t necessarily mean eliminating certain foods altogether; simply reducing some of them by 50% by 2050 may significantly reduce harmful emissions.
The foods under particular scrutiny are sugars, refined flours and animal products.
For a healthy and sustainable diet, experts recommend consuming just 100 grams of red meat and 200 grams of white meat per week, and no more than 250 grams of milk per day.
Meanwhile, we should increase our consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as pulses, rice, wheat and maize. However, these foods must also be produced sustainably. It is always better to opt for zero-food-mile products produced through sustainable practices.
The term ‘flexitarian’ comes from merging ‘flexible’ and ‘vegetarian’. It described those who, while generally opting for a plant-based diet, consider themselves flexible and consume some animal products in moderation.
This is a climate-conscious diet in that those who follow it are aware of the environmental risks of eating meat and other foods of animal origin, but also understand that they are important sources of nutrition when eaten in moderation.
Precisely because it’s a flexible diet, there are no strict rules. Some eliminate red meat altogether but continue to consume other animal products, while others limit consumption to once a week, favouring plant-based food.
Typical foods eaten as part of this diet include plant proteins, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, fruits, vegetables and whole grains. When it comes to animal products, aside from consuming them in small quantities, it is also important to source them from free-range, non-intensive farms.
Another diet inspired by protecting the planet is the aptly named climatarian diet.
Similar to flexitarians, the main goal of those who chose this diet is to reduce the impact on climate change caused by food-related emissions.
The guidelines for following a climatarian diet are quite simple. Overall meat consumption should be decreased, with beef and lamb swapped out for pork and poultry. Switching to these types of meat is estimated to save one tonne of CO2 per person annually.
Other healthy habits are also an integral part of a climatarian diet. For example, eating only sustainably sourced fish, minimising food waste, always choosing seasonal food, opting for local, zero-food-mile production, avoiding air-transported food, steering clear of food grown in heated greenhouses, composting food waste, and avoiding processed food.
The ancestral diet is based on the diet of our grandparents and great-grandparents, focusing on food produced from the land or sea without industrial processes that alter its core characteristics.
While processed foods have come a long way and are praised for their convenience and bacterial safety, they have also become laden with sugars, fats and preservatives.
Eating naturally is not only healthier, it’s also more environmentally friendly.
This type of diet doesn’t exclude any foods outright, rather it focuses on the production method. For instance, meat can be consumed, provided it comes from a non-intensive farm where the animals aren’t treated with antibiotics. Likewise, fish should be wild-caught, dairy products should be organic and raw, fruit and vegetables should be seasonal with zero food miles, and grains and pulses should be native to the area.
Whether you follow the EAT Lancet advice, decide to become flexitarian or climatarian, or embrace an ancestral diet, rice consumption fits seamlessly into all these diets.
Organic rice and sustainable rice in particular, such as those produced by Mundi Riso, are an excellent choice for anyone seeking to reduce the environmental impact of their diet. Cultivated using methods that promote ecological balance and minimise the use of chemicals, organic and sustainable rice support not only biodiversity, but also healthy soil and farming communities.
Incorporating organic and/or sustainable rice into your eating habits means supporting agricultural practices aligned with our environment and promoting a consumption model that goes beyond nutrition, touching on the essential aspects of sustainable living.
An Italian company belonging entirely to the Spanish Ebro Foods Group, the first agri-food group in Spain, world leader in the rice sector, a strong position in pasta sector, boasts a range of over 60 brands distributed all over the world.
Mundi Riso S.r.l.
Via Camillo De Rossi, 14
13100 Vercelli
Tel. +39 0161 28 28 28
Fax: +39 0161 21 33 65
