Sustainable nutrition

What is it, and why should athletes and active individuals care?

Are you aware that the food choices you make have an impact on the planet? For the first time in the history of dietary advice, nutrition and sustainability are becoming increasingly synonymous. It is more important than ever to promote sustainable, healthy diets that is also appropriate for athletes – so much so that there was a whole scientific article released in the journal, Nutrients, called “Eat as If You Could Save the Planet and Win!’ Sustainability Integration into Nutrition for Exercise and Sport”.

Sustainable nutrition is something I truly am very passionate about, but feel that there is not enough awareness about it, both in the general community and in the health and fitness industry. Maybe it is because we don’t feel that our contribution is significant enough. But the truth is, having a real impact on sustainability in food systems requires ALL people to pull their weight. That means you as an athlete or someone who is trying to improve your health, have a VITAL role to play in this.

That is why I am introducing the new Sustainability Series – to empower athletes and active individuals to not only elevate your health, but also the impact you have on the planet.

The environmental impact of food

• If climate change keeps on increasing, it will negatively impact food production, resulting in reduced yields of up to 30-40% by the end of the century.
• Agriculture contributes to about 33% of Earth’s ice-free surface, and is a MAJOR contributor to the depletion of resources. Pre- to post production agriculture accounts for 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions.
• Ecosystems continue to be compromised to make more land to meet an increasing demand for food, especially meat, and leads to great losses in biodiversity.
• Globally, about a 1/3 of the food that is produced is discarded per year. This not only have massive global warming potential, but considering the scope of world hunger, just think how many people could be fed with that wasted food.

That’s the thing, right: Our food choices doesn’t just affect the environment, it also affects the people living in the environment. According to the Food Aid Foundation “some 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. That’s about one in nine people on earth. The vast majority of the world’s hungry people live in developing countries, where 12.9 percent of the population is undernourished.”

What is sustainable nutrition? And how does it apply to me as an athlete?

According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation), “a sustainable diet is a diet with low environmental impacts which contributes to food and nutrition security and a healthy life for present and future generations. A sustainable food system is protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable, nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy, while optimising natural and human resources”.

Luckily, a sustainable diet is also a healthy diet. Eating more fruit, vegetables, and fibre, and making choosing foods that come from sustainable sources is better for your health than the alternative.

Success in sports depends, in part, on an intact food system. Sportspeople also tend to be great role models in society. You might be surprised at how much impact you as an athlete can have when you shift to a more sustainable lifestyle.

We as an athlete make dozens of choices every day. It is time we started being aware of the environmental impacts of our nutrition choices and start living in a way that not only our own health, but also the health of the planet.

Resources

Meyer, N., Reguant-Closa, A., 2017. ‘Eat as If You Could Save the Planet and Win!’ Sustainability Integration into Nutrition for Exercise and Sport. Nutrients. 9(4):468-490.

The Food And Agriculture Organization. 2010. Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity. FAO; Rome, Italy.