About this Research Topic
In the current Anthropocene era, human activities show their impact on the surrounding environment. This also regards food choices. The supply chains show impacts that concern all stages of a food's life, from the cradle to the grave, which include the production of raw materials, transport, and waste management. If until a few decades ago attention to nutrition was aimed at obtaining the maximum benefit for health, today we may no longer ignore the ecological impact of our diets. Globally, the production of feed for animal breeding, including aquaculture, involves a huge consumption of resources subtracted from the environment. At the same time, farming produces waste that poses a threat of pollution to lands and seas.
The demand for raw materials for breeding involves a huge and unsustainable consumption of land which far exceeds that used for commodity production directly for human use. Furthermore, large-scale cultivation threatens native flora and fauna by exploiting the lands of autochthonous peoples in low- and middle-income countries. Sustainable food choices should support individual, community, and environmental health. Greater sensitivity to these issues guides diets that reduce or exclude foods of animal origin for health, ethical and environmental reasons. The current state of the art suggests that plant-based diets, such as vegetarian, vegan, and flexitarian, have a more favorable environmental impact, fostering a beneficial effect on climate change. At the same time, they allow limiting animal food consumption, including red meat, which can be a health target, especially in industrialized countries. The promotion of large use of plant-based foods in place of animal ones could be the most effective key to achieving sustainability in the broad sense that is efficient both for food choices in Westernized countries (which need to reduce excesses), and in low-medium income countries (which would also benefit from a more stable economy and greater food availability).
The purpose of this Research Topic is to collect contributions that can broaden and further clarify current scientific advances on the role of diet on sustainability in a wide interpretation concerning health and environment, with particular regard to plant-based diets.
Themes of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Sustainability of dietary choices in different contexts: environmental and health improvement through plant-based dietary patterns.
• Reduced meat consumption and plant-based diets for non-communicable disease prevention.
• Food security and sustainability for the world population.
Accepted article types are: original research, case reports, case series, mini review, narrative review, nutritional methods, hypothesis and theory, opinion, perspective and systematic review, and meta-analysis.
The demand for raw materials for breeding involves a huge and unsustainable consumption of land which far exceeds that used for commodity production directly for human use. Furthermore, large-scale cultivation threatens native flora and fauna by exploiting the lands of autochthonous peoples in low- and middle-income countries. Sustainable food choices should support individual, community, and environmental health. Greater sensitivity to these issues guides diets that reduce or exclude foods of animal origin for health, ethical and environmental reasons. The current state of the art suggests that plant-based diets, such as vegetarian, vegan, and flexitarian, have a more favorable environmental impact, fostering a beneficial effect on climate change. At the same time, they allow limiting animal food consumption, including red meat, which can be a health target, especially in industrialized countries. The promotion of large use of plant-based foods in place of animal ones could be the most effective key to achieving sustainability in the broad sense that is efficient both for food choices in Westernized countries (which need to reduce excesses), and in low-medium income countries (which would also benefit from a more stable economy and greater food availability).
The purpose of this Research Topic is to collect contributions that can broaden and further clarify current scientific advances on the role of diet on sustainability in a wide interpretation concerning health and environment, with particular regard to plant-based diets.
Themes of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Sustainability of dietary choices in different contexts: environmental and health improvement through plant-based dietary patterns.
• Reduced meat consumption and plant-based diets for non-communicable disease prevention.
• Food security and sustainability for the world population.
Accepted article types are: original research, case reports, case series, mini review, narrative review, nutritional methods, hypothesis and theory, opinion, perspective and systematic review, and meta-analysis.
Keywords: Vegetarian, Vegan, Plant-Based, Flexitarian, Climate Change, Environmental, Ethical, Life Cycle Assessment
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
