Most Dutch people are already unable to eat according to the Wheel of Five, but a lot more needs to be done, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-NL). The Dutch guidelines for good nutrition, translated into the Wheel of Five, are not sustainable enough, the WWF-NL wrote in a report on Tuesday: Healthy eating within the limits of one earth.
WWF-NL also believes that the government’s goal to reduce the share of animal proteins to 50 percent of total protein consumption is too poor: the balance should be two-thirds vegetable and one-third meat, dairy and eggs. There will be no more than one small portion of meat per week left if food production and consumption in the Netherlands are within 2050. the sustainability limits of the planet to stay. For example, a ham steak of 130 grams. While the average Dutch man now eat 110 grams of meat per day.
Biodiversity and greenhouse gases
Food production is now responsible for 80 percent of deforestation. Also when it comes to biodiversity, freshwater use, climate change, greenhouse gases and nitrogen and phosphate flows, food production and consumption put more pressure on the earth than it can handle. WWF-NL investigated for the first time what Dutch people will eat in the future if the load remains within planetary limits without lacking nutrients.
Instead of calculating a specific eating pattern, WWF-NL looked the other way around: the menu of the future is the outcome of a calculation based on the footprint of products that Dutch people currently eat, compared to the Wheel of Five and the so-called EAT Lancet -diet. This sustainable diet saves the earth, but is so radical that those who follow it may suffer from nutrient deficiencies. The future menu goes much further than the Wheel of Five, but not nearly as far as EAT Lancet.
What can Dutch people eat without violating planetary boundaries and without lacking nutrients?
The global WNF recommendations are obvious: more plant-based and less animal-based, less processed, more fresh and local from sustainable agriculture, less waste, more variety and not too much of anything. But zooming in on individual product groups, extreme results sometimes emerge, with large differences between men and women and quantities that are far from the current guidelines. Take cheese: the Wheel of Five states 40 grams of cheese per day, while in the WWF-NL model this is only 4 grams for men and 21 for women. Or 200 grams of vegetables for men instead of the current recommended 250. And more red than white meat, while the advice is now the other way around.
This is where the task that the nature organization set itself to remain within all planetary boundaries is avenged. “It is particularly difficult to limit greenhouse gases,” says Corné van Dooren, nutrition specialist at WWF-NL (and previously employed by the Nutrition Center). “Because at the same time you have to get enough calcium and iron, for example. That results in significant shifts.”
No attack on Wheel of Five
WWF-NL therefore does not prescribe eating a maximum of 4 grams of cheese and never eating chicken again. “The menu mainly shows the direction towards a more sustainable eating pattern.”
Although the question is whether consumers are willing to make so many sacrifices, WWF-NL’s future menu would more than halve the environmental impact. All indicators from water use to nitrogen surplus remain (well) within the limits. Van Dooren: “The benefit of this research is that it shows the bottlenecks. You can also provide other solutions.”
The Nutrition Center does not see the WWF-NL menu as an attack on the Wheel of Five. “It is great that WWF-NL shows that healthy eating is possible within the limits of the planet, and how far that is from the Wheel of Five,” says Lilou van Lieshout, sustainable eating expert at the Nutrition Center. It cannot be ruled out that the Disc will contain less dairy and meat in the future. “But feasibility also plays a role. This future menu is far removed from the current eating pattern. We want to bring as many people as possible.”
Also read this article: How do you make sustainable choices in the supermarket? NRC list all the tips