Biogas Cook Stoves for Healthy and Sustainable Diets? A Case Study in Southern India.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Anderman TL
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4584993 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Global food systems will face unprecedented challenges in the coming years. They will need to meet the nutritional needs of a growing population and feed an expanding demand for proteins. This is against a backdrop of increasing environmental challenges (water resources, climate change, soil health) and the need to improve farming livelihoods. Collaborative efforts by a variety of stakeholders are needed to ensure that future generations have access to healthy and sustainable diets. Food will play an increasingly important role in the global discourse on health. These topics were explored during Nestlé's second international conference on 'Planting Seeds for the Future of Food: The Agriculture, Nutrition and Sustainability Nexus', which took place in July 2017. This article discusses some of the key issues from the perspective of three major stakeholder groups, namely farming/agriculture, the food industry and consumers. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
| S-EPMC6033153 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveThis qualitative study aimed to explore young Australians' perspectives, motivators and current practices in achieving a sustainable and healthy diet.DesignSemi-structured online interviews were conducted with young Australians. Interviews were audio-recorded using the online Zoom platform, transcribed and analysed using a deductive analysis method by applying the Theoretical Domains Framework and inductive thematic data analysis.SettingYoung Australians recruited via social media platforms, noticeboard announcements and flyers.SubjectsTwenty-two Australians aged 18 to 25 years.ResultsThe majority of participants were aware of some aspects of a sustainable and healthy diet and indicated the need to reduce meat intake, increase intake of plant-based foods, reduce food wastage and packaging and reduce food miles. Young adults were motivated to adopt more sustainable dietary practices but reported that individual and environmental factors such as low food literacy, limited food preparation and cooking skills, lack of availability and accessibility of environmentally friendly food options and costs associated with sustainable and healthy diets hindered their ability to do so.ConclusionsGiven the barriers faced by many of our participants, there is a need for interventions aimed at improving food literacy and food preparation and cooking skills as well as those that create food environments that make it easy to select sustainable and healthy diets. Future research is needed for longitudinal larger scale quantitative studies to confirm our qualitative findings. In addition, the development and evaluation of individual and micro-environmental-based interventions promote sustainable and healthy diets more comprehensively.
| S-EPMC9991849 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Research coupling human nutrition and sustainability concerns is a rapidly developing field, which is essential to guide governments' policies. This critical and comprehensive review analyzes indicators and approaches to "sustainable healthy diets" published in the literature since this discipline's emergence a few years ago, identifying robust gauges and highlighting the flaws of the most commonly used models. The reviewed studies largely focus on one or two domains such as greenhouse gas emissions or water use, while overlooking potential impact shifts to other sectors or resources. The present study covers a comprehensive set of indicators from the health, environmental and socio-economic viewpoints. This assessment concludes that in order to identify the best food option in sustainability assessments and nutrition analysis of diets, some aspects such as the classification and disaggregation of food groups, the impacts of the rates of local food consumption and seasonality, preservation methods, agrobiodiversity and organic food and different production systems, together with consequences for low-income countries, require further analysis and consideration.
| S-EPMC8147455 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study aims to adapt and validate the Sustainable HEalthy Diet (SHED) Index for the Portuguese adult population, which was developed to assess sustainable and healthy eating patterns. Data were collected using a web-based questionnaire administered through interviews with 347 individuals aged between 18 and 65 years old. The SHED Index evaluates 30 items, allowing for the assessment and scoring of sustainable and healthy eating patterns. The higher the SHED Index score, the more sustainable and healthier the diet. A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the participants' dietary intake. The criterion validity was examined by testing the relationship between the SHED Index score and adherence to the Mediterranean Diet. Reproducibility was assessed by determining agreement and reliability with test-retest. Construct validity was confirmed based on established criteria. A higher SHED Index score was associated with moderate to high adherence to the Mediterranean diet, while it was inversely related to the proportion of animal-sourced foods in the overall food intake (r = -0.281, p < 0.001). Good reliability and agreement were found for the SHED Index score. Our findings suggest that the SHED Index is a valid and reliable tool for assessing sustainable and healthy diets in the Portuguese adult population.
| S-EPMC10745297 | biostudies-literature
Project description:It is the position of Dietitians Australia that to promote human and planetary health, a food system transformation is needed that enables the population to adopt healthy and sustainable diet-related practices. A healthy and sustainable diet must (i) be nutritionally adequate, healthy and safe, (ii) have low environmental impact and be protective of natural resources and biodiversity, (iii) be culturally acceptable and (iv) be accessible, economically fair and affordable. Dietitians Australia acknowledges that it is critical to prioritise Indigenous knowledges in consultation, policy-making and implementation processes to achieve these recommendations. In facilitating the uptake of healthy and sustainable diets, dietitians are contributing to the transformation of our current food system that is urgently required to nourish present and future generations within planetary boundaries. In developing this position statement, opportunities for future research have been identified including those to advance the professions' capacity to improve environmental sustainability outcomes across all areas of practice. To achieve a population-level shift towards this diet, Dietitians Australia recommends: (i) the development of a National Food and Nutrition Strategy which honours Indigenous knowledges on food systems, (ii) the integration of sustainability principles in Australia's dietary guidelines, (iii) the reorientation of our food environment to prioritise access to healthy and sustainable foods, and (iv) investment in capacity building activities to equip the current and future nutrition and dietetics workforce.
| S-EPMC9311218 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The first Swiss national dietary survey (MenuCH) was used to screen disease burdens and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of Swiss diets (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, slimming), with a focus on gender and education level. The Health Nutritional Index (HENI), a novel disease burden-based nutritional index built on the Global Burden of Disease studies, was used to indicate healthiness using comparable, relative disease burden scores. Low whole grain consumption and high processed meat consumption are priority risk factors. Non-processed red meat and dairy make a nearly negligible contribution to disease burden scores, yet are key drivers of diet-related GHGs. Swiss diets, including vegetarian, ranged between 1.1-2.6 tons of CO2e/person/year, above the Swiss federal recommendation 0.6 ton CO2e/person/year for all consumption categories. This suggests that only changing food consumption practices will not suffice towards achieving carbon reduction targets: Systemic changes to food provisioning processes are also necessary. Finally, men with higher education had the highest dietary GHG emissions per gram of food, and the highest disease burden scores. Win-win policies to improve health and sustainability of Swiss diets would increase whole grain consumption for all, and decrease alcohol and processed meat consumption especially for men of higher education levels.
| S-EPMC7551606 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background/Aims EAT–Lancet Commission’s Planetary Health Diet proposed a diet that integrates nutrition and sustainability considerations, however its affordability is unknown in many country-specific contexts, including Australia. The aim of this study is to develop a healthy and sustainable food basket modelled on the Planetary Health Diet to determine the affordability of the Planetary Health Diet basket across various socio-economic groups, and compare this affordability with a food basket modelled on the typical current diet, in an Australian setting. Methods An Australian-specific Planetary Health Diet basket was developed for a reference household (2 adults and 2 children) modelled on the Planetary Health Diet reference diet, and compared to a previously-developed Typical Australian Diet basket. The cost of each food basket was determined by online supermarket shopping surveys in low, medium and high socio-economic areas in each Australian state. Basket affordability was determined for the reference household by comparing the basket cost to disposable income in each socio-economic group in each state. Mann-Whitney U tests then determined if there were significant differences between the median costs and the median affordability of both baskets. Results The Planetary Health Diet basket was shown to be less expensive and more affordable than the Typical Australian Diet basket nationally, in all metropolitan areas, in all socio-economic groups across Australia (median cost: Planetary Health Diet?=?AUD$188.21, Typical Australian Diet?=?AUD$224.36; median affordability: Planetary Health Diet?=?13%, Typical Australian Diet?=?16%; p =?<?0.05). Conclusions This study showed the Planetary Health Diet to be more affordable than the Typical Australian Diet for metropolitan-dwelling Australians. Implications These results can help to inform public health and food policy aimed at achieving a healthy and sustainable future for all Australians, including reductions in overweight/obesity rates and increased food security.
| S-EPMC7528590 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundTo keep global warming <1.5°C as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), eating patterns must change. However, future diets should be modeled at a national level and respect cultural acceptability.ObjectivesWe aimed to identify diets among Dutch adults satisfying nutritional and selected environmental requirements while deviating minimally from the baseline diet among Dutch adults.MethodsWe calculated per capita food system greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) targets derived from the IPCC 1.5-degree assessment study. Using individual adult dietary intake from the National Food Consumption Survey in the Netherlands (2007-2010) to form a baseline, we used quadratic optimization to generate diets that followed the baseline Dutch diet as closely as possible, while satisfying nutritional goals and remaining below GHGE targets. We considered 12 scenarios in which we varied GHGE targets [2050: 1.11 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (kg CO2-eq) per person per day (pppd); 2030: 2.04 kg CO2-eq pppd; less strict 2030: 2.5 kg CO2-eq pppd; no target], modeled eating patterns (food-based dietary guidelines; flexitarian; pescatarian; lacto-ovo-vegetarian; vegan), and conducted exploratory analyses (food diversity; acceptability; food chain interdependency).ResultsOptimized solutions for 2030 required major decreases (<33% of baseline values) in consumption of beef, pork, cheese, snacks, and butter and increased consumption (>150% of baseline values) of legumes, fish and shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, vegetables, soy foods, and soy drink. Eight food groups were within 33%-150% of the baseline diet among Dutch adults. The optimized solution complying to the lowest GHGE target (2050) lacked food diversity, and the (lacto-ovo) vegetarian and vegan optimized diets were prone to nutritional inadequacies.ConclusionsWithin Dutch eating habits, satisfying optimization constraints required a shift away from beef, cheese, butter, and snacks toward plant-based foods and fish and shellfish, questioning acceptability. Satisfying 2050 food system GHGE targets will require research in consumer preferences and breakthrough innovations in food production and processing.
| S-EPMC7657328 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Evidence on whether healthy diets are more expensive than current diets is mixed due to lack of robust methodology. The aim of this study was to develop a novel methodology to model the cost differential between healthy and current diets and apply it in New Zealand. METHODS:Prices of common foods were collected from 15 supermarkets, 15 fruit/vegetable stores and from the Food Price Index. The distribution of the cost of two-weekly healthy and current household diets was modelled using a list of commonly consumed foods, a set of min and max quantity/serves constraints for each, and food group and nutrient intakes based on dietary guidelines (healthy diets) or nutrition survey data (current diets). The cost differential between healthy and current diets was modelled for several diet, prices and policy scenarios. Acceptability of resulting meal plans was validated. RESULTS:The average cost of healthy household diets was $27 more expensive than the average cost of current diets, but 25.8% of healthy diets were cheaper than the average cost of current diets. This cost differential could be reduced if fruits and vegetables became exempt from Goods and Services Tax. Healthy diets were cheaper with an allowance for discretionary foods and more expensive when including takeaway meals. For M?ori and Pacific households, healthy diets were on average $40 and $60 cheaper than current diets due to large energy intakes. Discretionary foods and takeaway meals contributed 30-40% to the average cost of current diets. CONCLUSION:Healthy New Zealand diets were on average more expensive than current diets, but one-quarter of healthy diets were cheaper than the average cost of current diets. The impact of diet composition, types of prices and policies on the cost differential was substantial. The methodology can be used in other countries to monitor the cost differential between healthy and current household diets.
| S-EPMC5807767 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background:In Rwanda, pneumonia and diarrhea are the first and second leading causes of death, respectively, among children under five. Household air pollution (HAP) resultant from cooking indoors with biomass fuels on traditional stoves is a significant risk factor for pneumonia, while consumption of contaminated drinking water is a primary cause of diarrheal disease. To date, there have been no large-scale effectiveness trials of programmatic efforts to provide either improved cookstoves or household water filters at scale in a low-income country. In this paper we describe the design of a cluster-randomized trial to evaluate the impact of a national-level program to distribute and promote the use of improved cookstoves and advanced water filters to the poorest quarter of households in Rwanda. Methods/Design:We randomly allocated 72 sectors (administratively defined units) in Western Province to the intervention, with the remaining 24 sectors in the province serving as controls. In the intervention sectors, roughly 100,000 households received improved cookstoves and household water filters through a government-sponsored program targeting the poorest quarter of households nationally. The primary outcome measures are the incidence of acute respiratory infection (ARI) and diarrhea among children under five years of age. Over a one-year surveillance period, all cases of acute respiratory infection (ARI) and diarrhea identified by health workers in the study area will be extracted from records maintained at health facilities and by community health workers (CHW). In addition, we are conducting intensive, longitudinal data collection among a random sample of households in the study area for in-depth assessment of coverage, use, environmental exposures, and additional health measures. Discussion:Although previous research has examined the impact of providing household water treatment and improved cookstoves on child health, there have been no studies of national-level programs to deliver these interventions at scale in a developing country. The results of this study, the first RCT of a large-scale programmatic cookstove or household water filter intervention, will inform global efforts to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality from diarrheal disease and pneumonia. Trial registration:This trial is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02239250).
| S-EPMC5935890 | biostudies-literature