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CLIMATE CHANGE
SUSTAINABLE DIET
HEALTH
The Connection and the Solution
REPORT FOR GOVERNMENT
2009 UPDATE
1
“Improving dietary habits is a societal,
not just an individual problem.
Therefore it demands a population-based,
multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary,
and culturally relevant approach.”
HEALTH OVERVIEW 8
National and International Figures 8
Dietary Factors 8
Costs of ill Health 9
DISEASES 9
Obesity 9
Cardiovascular Disease 10
Diabetes 10
Cancer 11
Swine Flu 13
CONCLUSION 25
APPENDIX 1 - FISH 28
APPENDIX 2 - QUOTES 30
REFERENCES 32
The contents of this publication
have been endorsed by the
following health professionals
and scientists.
This paper summarises the medical evidence which links the dra-
matic rise of major chronic disease worldwide to high intakes of
saturated fats and animal protein, and the reversal of these once
a healthful diet containing more vegetables, grains and legumes is
adopted. It also highlights how these same food choices can have
a very significant impact on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GGEs) and
climate change. The paper shows how eating further down the
food chain is not only more sustainable and supports good health,
but is also one of the quickest and most effective ways that we can
help mitigate climate change – more than by reducing emissions
from transport. It is hoped that through government leadership vi-
tal plans can be promptly adopted for the implementation of such
dietary measures for the benefit of people’s health, our national
economy and for addressing the many environmental crises we are
all facing. 7
National and International Figures
HEALTH
In the UK, around 70,000 fewer people would die prematurely each
OVERVIEW year if diets matched nutritional guidelines on fruit and vegetable,
saturated fat, added sugar and salt intake (Strategy Unit 2008). The
EPIC Study has found that diets rich in fruit and vegetables are as-
sociated with reduced mortality (Am J Clin Nutr 2007). Globally,
the WHO has stated: “Low intake of fruit and vegetables is estimated
to cause about 31 percent of ischaemic heart disease, 11 percent of
strokes worldwide and 19 percent of gastrointestinal cancers. Overall,
2.7 million deaths are attributable to low fruit and vegetable intake”
(WHO 2004).
Dietary Factors
Data show a major change in diet at a global level since the middle
of the twentieth century whereby traditional, largely plant-based
diets have been replaced by high fat, energy dense diets that are mi-
cronutrient poor, with a substantial content of animal based foods
(WHO/FAO 2003). This change, as well as an increase in sedentary
lifestyles and smoking, has had disastrous effects on health, with the
burden of chronic disease rapidly increasing worldwide. Many stud-
ies have implicated dietary factors in chronic disease: according to
the WHO, a diet insufficient in fruit and vegetables is an independ-
ent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and cancer, including lung,
stomach, colorectal and oesophageal cancers (WHO Media Centre
2007, CVD). In 2001, chronic disease caused approximately 60% of
the 56.5 million reported deaths in the world and 46% of the global
burden of disease (WHO 2002). Cardiovascular disease accounts for
almost half of chronic disease deaths; obesity and diabetes are on
the rise and appearing earlier in life (WHO/FAO 2003). The rapid in-
crease in chronic disease is not limited to developed regions: devel-
oping countries are also plagued (WHO 2002). It has been estimated
that by 2020, chronic disease will account for almost three quarters
of all deaths worldwide (WHO 1998). Yet chronic diseases are largely
preventable, and primary prevention is considered to be the most
cost-effective and sustainable course of action (WHO/FAO 2003).
Obesity
DISEASES Obesity has reached pandemic proportions. There are at least 400
million obese adults and over 1.5 billion overweight people (age 15+)
in the world; at least 20 million children under the age of 5 are over-
weight. The WHO estimates that 10% of children and 20% of adults in
Europe and Central Asia will be obese by 2010 unless action is taken.
In England, almost 1 in 4 adults are obese, and if it remains unchecked,
by 2050, 9 in 10 adults will be overweight or obese. Worldwide, about
2.5 million deaths annually are attributed to overweight/obesity (WHO
Media Centre 2006, Obesity).
Risk factors for obesity and overweight are rising dramatically (WHO
Media Centre 2006, Obesity), but overweight, obesity and related chron-
ic diseases are largely preventable (WHO Media Centre 2006, Obesity). A
move from saturated to unsaturated fats, increasing consumption of
fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts, limit-
ing sugar and increasing physical activity are recommended measures
for prevention and control (WHO Media Centre 2006, Obesity). Choles-
terol lowering foods, including viscous fibres (eg, fibres from oats and
barley) and plant sterols, increase the effectiveness of diet in treating
hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol) (JAMA 2003).
9
Cardiovascular Disease
Globally, around 17.5 million people died from cardiovascular dis-
ease (CVD) in 2005: some 30% of all deaths. By 2015, the number
of deaths from CVD is expected to be about 20 million (WHO Media
Centre 2007,CVD). It is the world’s number one killer. CVD also plac-
es a heavy burden on national economies: it is estimated that Chi-
na will lose $558 billion in national income from 2006-2015, due to
heart disease, stroke and diabetes (WHO Media Centre 2007, CVD).
Causes of CVD are well established: the most important are un-
healthy diet, physical inactivity and tobacco use. At least 80% of
premature deaths from heart disease and stroke could be avoided
through healthy eating, regular physical activity and avoiding to-
bacco smoke (WHO/FAO 2003).
Diabetes
Diabetes has rapidly become a global pandemic. More than 180
million people worldwide have diabetes. This figure is expected
to more than double by 2030 without intervention. In 2005, an
estimated 1.1 million people died from diabetes. However, taking
into account deaths in which diabetes was a contributory condi-
tion (such as kidney failure or heart disease), this figure increases
to 2.9 million deaths per year (WHO Media Centre 2008, Diabetes).
10
The EPIC Study (Norfolk), with nearly 22,000 participants and a 12
year follow up, was the first large population-based prospective
study to report that an energy-dense diet is positively associated
with incident diabetes independently of baseline BMI, total energy
intake and other risk factors (Am Diab Assoc 2008). Another pro-
spective study involving 42,500 male participants with 12 years of
follow up concluded that total and saturated fat intake was associ-
ated with a higher risk of type II diabetes (not independent of BMI)
and that frequent consumption of processed meats may increase
risk (Am Diab Assoc 2002).
Cancer
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 7.4
million deaths in 2004; this figure is projected to rise, with an esti-
mated 12 million deaths in 2030. Lung, stomach, colorectal, liver,
and breast cancer cause the most cancer deaths each year. More
than 30% of cancer deaths could be prevented by avoiding key risk
factors, which include tobacco and alcohol use, being overweight,
low fruit and vegetable intake and physical inactivity (WHO Media
Centre, Cancer 2009).
The EPIC Study has found that bowel cancer risk increases by a third
for people who consume two daily 80g portions of red or processed
11
meat, compared with those who eat just 20g a day (J Natl Cancer
Inst 2005). The World Cancer Research Fund recommends reducing
consumption of red and processed meats in its 2007 report, stat-
ing them to be a convincing cause of colorectal cancer (WCRF and
AICR 2007); and a meta-analysis of prospective studies published
through March 2006 also confirmed that high consumption of red
and processed meat is associated with increased risk of colorectal
cancer (Int J Cancer 2006). There is growing evidence linking red
meat to pancreatic and stomach cancers: EPIC found that people
eating over 100g of meat a day had over 3 times the risk of stomach
cancer (J Natl Cancer Inst 2006), while another study, involving over
500,000 individuals over 5 years, found that those consuming most
red or processed meat have a 40-50% higher risk of pancreatic can-
cer (Cancer Epidemiol 2007). Prostate cancer is associated with the
intake of animal fat, especially fat from red meat, which was the
conclusion of a prospective study involving 51,000 participants (J
Natl Cancer Inst 1993). Breast cancer has also been associated with
saturated fat intake, by a study of over 13,000 women over a four
year period (Lancet 2003a).
12
Swine Flu
Swine Flu, now with over 255,000 officially reported cases world-
wide, has highlighted the exposure of humans to animal patho-
gens. The pandemic has been linked by experts to factory farms,
which are perfect breeding grounds for new viruses such as H1N1,
the genetic lineage of which has been traced to a strain that
emerged in US factory farms in 1998, when it spread and mutated
at an alarming rate (Wired Science 2009).
The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) tells us that 60% of
human pathogens and 75% of recent emerging diseases, includ-
ing TB, are zoonotic (OIE 2005). All areas of meat, poultry, egg, and
dairy production (e.g. meat transportation and processing, animal
rendering, manure handling practices) can contribute to food con-
tamination and zoonotic disease (Env H Persp 2007). Several high
profile recalls involving E. Coli O157:H7 and Salmonella serve as
reminders of the risk.
13
Other meat-related diseases which can be fatal, such as CJD, Blue
Tongue Disease, Avian flu and Listeriosis, have also been a cause of
increased concern, and question the safety of eating meat. Meat
recalls around the world are becoming more frequent with millions
of kilos of meat found to be contaminated.
The Link
DIET, DISEASE AND Data show that the sharp increase in meat production and con-
GLOBAL WARMING sumption in the last 50 years has not only been linked to chronic
disease reaching pandemic proportions (WHO/FAO2003), but has
also caused environmental devastation, responsible for our plan-
et’s dwindling resources of land and water, further threatening
food security, among other things.
Continuing Trend
Meat is the principal component in most people’s diet, and as such
is a main source of protein and iron for the majority: it has become
tradition to serve certain meat dishes in many cultures. Meat is also
a source of high saturated fat, lacks fibre and some micronutrients,
and if not organic, contains a multitude of chemicals, antibiot-
ics and hormones, all detrimental to human health. High profile
studies such as EPIC and others clearly cite the effects of too much
saturated fat and lack of fibre, absence of sufficient fruit and veg-
etables in the diet and physical inactivity as contributory risk factors
to many of our chronic but largely preventable diseases; statistics
from WHO show this trend is likely to continue unless concerted ac-
tion is taken.
Most people do not know they are able to replace protein from ani-
mal flesh with protein from pulses, grains, nuts and vegetables with
their many advantages and without detrimental health effects.
If the meat industry fulfils its predicted growth, with staunch mon-
etary support from governments, we must be prepared for serious
adverse consequences with regard to global health, financial costs
and runaway (uncontrollable) global warming.
16
The very quality of methane that makes it so damaging also points
to a quick and effective way to halt global warming – by signifi-
cantly reducing anthropogenic methane; the primary source of
which is livestock production. However powerful it is, with a net
life cycle of 8.4 years in the atmosphere (c.f. carbon dioxide, 100 -
1000 years) and reduced warming potential in longer time frames,
any reduction in methane can quickly translate into alleviation of
the warming effect.
Another paper shows that avoiding meat for just one day a week
in the UK would prevent 13 megatons of carbon dioxide emission.
This is a greater carbon saving than taking 5 million cars off the
road (10.4 megatons of carbon dioxide), and almost equal to re-
placing a billion conventional light bulbs with low-energy ones
(Inst Env Studies 2008).
17
Agriculture as Climate Killer
Greenhouse effect from different kinds of eating habits,
per capita and per annum, presented in car kilometres*
629 km
Vegetarianism
1978 km
2427 km
*equivalent to the CO2 emissions of a BMW 118d with 119g CO2 /km
Source: Foodwatch
18
will be 1.8 billion people living with absolute water scarcity, and
2/3 of the world’s population could be living under water-stressed
conditions (UN FAO 2006). With global population expected to
reach 8.1 billion by 2030, 14% more fresh water would be required
for agriculture to keep pace with the growing demand for food (UN
FAO News 2007). But even now, the global amount of fresh water
available per person is falling rapidly (UNEP 2002).
In the face of such scarcity, water usage continues where it is least
sustainable. The raising of livestock, particularly the production
of animal feed, “consumes large amounts of critically important
water resources and competes with other usages and users” (UN
FAO 2006). A report presented to the UN, ‘Saving Water: From Field
to Fork’ shows that 70% of global fresh water is used in agricul-
ture, and most of that is used for livestock production. Industry ac-
counts for 20% and households only 10% (SIWI and IWHI 2008). The
amount of water per kilo required to produce food groups such as
meat and dairy can be 10 times that required for grains and veg-
etables (SIWI and IWHI 2008). In the United States, the ratio is even
greater: 1kg of animal protein requires about 100 times more water
to produce than 1kg of grain protein (Am J Clin Nutr 2003).
• 1kg of beef requires 5,000 – 20,000 litres of water
• 1 kg of wheat requires 500 – 2,000 litres of water
Meat production also uses up to 20 times more land than grain
and vegetables to support the same number of people (WHO/FAO
2003).
One hectare of land produces:
• potatoes 22 people
• rice 19 people
• lamb
for 2 people
• beef 1person
Hence, meat production uses the majority of agricultural land
(70%) – which can be rendered infertile for years due to overgraz-
ing, compaction and erosion. Seventy percent of all grazing land in
dry areas is considered to be degraded (UN FAO 2006).
The livestock industry is the single largest user of land and water
in the world (UN FAO 2006). Our diminishing reserves of land and
water cannot sustain a growing human population while mainly
being used for, and damaged by, the raising of 58 billion livestock
each year (FAOSTAT).
19
Food Insecurity
There are more than 1 billion people in the world who do not have
enough to eat. Hunger claims 25,000 lives every day and every six
seconds a child dies of hunger. (WFP Hunger Stats). Meanwhile,
760 million tons of grain are fed to animals every year (UN FAO Food
Outlook 2008). During 2007-2008, 36% of the global grain utilised
was to feed animals, whilst 47% was used for feeding humans, and
5% used on bio-fuel (UN FAO Crop 2008). During the same period
about 70% of the global soya consumption was in the form of ani-
mal feed whilst only 16% was used for humans (USDA Review 2008).
Deforestation
Every year, 17 million hectares of tropical rainforest is destroyed (RIC).
Seventy percent of the Amazon’s deforestation is due to making pas-
ture land for cattle, and a large part of the remainder is used for feed
crops (FAO 2006).
Forests play a key role in mitigating climate change. Apart from stor-
ing carbon, they act as a climate buffer, generate rainfall, store water,
stabilise the soil, maintain biodiversity and much more (GCP). Deci-
mating them for pasture has a very high environmental cost. Every
year about 2.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmos-
phere as a result of deforestation for livestock maintenance (UN FAO
2006). By 2010 cattle are projected to be grazing on some 24 million
hectares of neo-tropical land that was forest in 2000 (UN FAO 2006).
20
The declaration signed by 300 climate experts at the 2007 United Na-
tions Conference in Bali says: “If we lose the forests, we lose the fight
against climate change.”
Species Extinctions
In 306 of the 825 terrestrial eco-regions identified by the World-
wide Fund for Nature, livestock are identified as “a current threat”,
while 23 of Conservation International’s 35 “global hotspots for
biodiversity” - characterized by serious levels of habitat loss - are
affected by livestock production. The International Union for Con-
servation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that species loss today is
1,000 to 10,000 times higher than the expected natural extinction
rate. Livestock production is a major culprit, contributing to all the
most important direct drivers of biodiversity loss, such as climate
change, habitat change, invasive alien species, and pollution (UN
FAO 2006).
Tropical forests hold half of the world’s species and many have be-
come or are becoming extinct at an alarming rate, largely for meat
production. The few species of animal raised for meat and milk
now account for about 20% of the total terrestrial animal biomass,
and this proportion is still growing ‘invasively’. “The sheer quantity
of animals being raised for human consumption is a threat to the
Earth’s biodiversity” (UN FAO 2006).
They report that vegetarians have a lower body mass index, lower
blood cholesterol, lower blood pressure and rates of clinical hy-
pertension, less type II diabetes, and a lower incidence of prostate
and colon cancer. Vegetarians also have lower rates of death from
ischaemic heart disease (ADA 2009). A vegetarian diet prevents
meat-related diseases and can reverse some of them: Research
over the last 30 years has demonstrated that coronary atheroscle-
rosis can be reversed through comprehensive lifestyle changes,
including a vegetarian diet; and more recently, a randomized con-
trolled trial showed that comprehensive lifestyle changes may stop
or reverse the progression of prostate cancer (JAMA 1998). The
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has also published studies
showing the benefits of a vegetarian diet in the prevention and
treatment of type II diabetes as well as its significant impact on car-
diovascular disease (Am J Clin Nutr 2003).
22
The trend toward plant-based foods has already gained momen-
tum as consumers learn about meat’s harmful effect on health and
the environment. Reducing or eliminating animal products from
our diet has major health benefits, will save billions of pounds in
healthcare and climate change costs and has the added benefit of
being the quickest, most effective way to curb methane emissions.
Many steps are being taken to curb climate change all over the
world, such as the use of renewable energy, eco friendly cars and
aeroplanes, recycling and planting trees, to name a few. Even the
meat and dairy industries are moving to reduce their environmen-
tal footprint through less packaging, improving fuel efficiency, re-
ducing water use, etc. Clearly, all of these are important and much
needed. Yet, even collectively, they are not sufficient to resolve the
environmental crisis we are facing now within a short time-frame,
if we continue to raise 58 billion animals for human consumption
every year (FAOSTAT). Nor would a continuation of current levels
of meat consumption reduce the worldwide pandemic of chronic
disease. Increasing scientific evidence shows that the high satu-
rated fats and lack of fibre in meat not only have a direct role in the
increase in major chronic diseases, but also, animal agriculture in
its current levels of production is literally stripping the planet of its
finite resources, as well as having a major role in global warming,
affecting many eco-systems. Furthermore, the rearing of billions of
animals in factory farms is breeding new and virulent pathogens,
as evidenced by the recent pandemic of Swine flu, posing an even
greater threat to human health and lives.
23
As Professor Tim Lang, adviser to the UK Government on food se-
curity and tackling obesity, has said: “We’ve got to have new crite-
ria that take into account all the new concerns – sustainability, water
shortage, climate change, obesity, malnutrition and so on.” He advis-
es cutting down on eating animals and dairy foodstuffs to reduce
the amount of GHGs produced in rearing livestock (Daily Telegraph
2008).
Based on the above studies showing how our dietary choices can
have a significant impact on our health and well-being as well as
an enormous impact on our planet’s resources and climate change,
our government can implement novel environmentally and eco-
nomically effective measures such as:
24
The 20th century change from largely plant-based diets to energy-
CONCLUSION dense diets high in fat and animal foods has played a key role in the
upsurge of diet-related, preventable health problems, from obesity
to type II diabetes, many types of heart disease and some cancers;
even the swine flu pandemic has been clearly linked to meat pro-
duction and consumption.
26
27
Appendix 1 FISH
Due to increasing concern about the state of our oceans and fisher-
ies and the safety of eating fish, alternative sources of long chain
polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) have been or are being de-
veloped. One such lipid is stearidonic acid (SDA), a naturally occur-
ring (n-3) PUFA that may have similar biological properties to eicos-
apentaenoic acid (EPA), a major (n-3) PUFA in fish oil. Existing and
novel plant sources rich in SDA are being cultivated and promoted
as potential alternatives to marine-based (n-3) PUFA (J Nutr 2009).
Given the state of severe crisis of our global fisheries, the health
risks in fish consumption and the incomplete knowledge surround-
ing the health benefits of fish consumption, it would seem respon-
sible to refrain from advocating to people in developed countries
that they increase their intake of long chain Omega-3 fatty acids
through fish consumption.
29
Appendix 2 REDUCING MEAT CONSUMPTION FOR
OPTIMUM HEALTH AND FOR THE PLANET
30
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of
survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a veg-
etarian diet.”
Albert Einstein, Physicist, Nobel Prize 1921
31
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“One of the most helpful is actually a vegetarian diet,
it produces much less greenhouse gasses than a meat diet.”
Dr. James Hansen, Director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
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