Skip to content

A ‘balanced’ diet

  • by J.W.

“Meat vs plant-based: The food debate is polarized, ideologized and tribalized” [foodingredientsfirst.com]

.

There’s been quite a kerfuffle over what school children should be fed – and what constitutes a ‘balanced diet’: Fightback against plant-based school dinners begins as furious farmers vow to resist council moves | Daily Mail Online

This follows on from many UK councils signing up to the UN’s ‘plant based treaty’:

The adoption of a Plant Based Treaty as a companion to the UNFCCC/Paris Agreement will put food systems at the heart of combating the climate crisis. The Treaty aims to halt the widespread degradation of critical ecosystems caused by animal agriculture, to promote a shift to more healthy, sustainable plant-based diets and to actively reverse damage done to planetary functions, ecosystem services and biodiversity. The Plant Based Treaty | Eat Plants, Plant Trees

But some politicians and farmers aren’t happy: Farmers fight back against plant-based school dinners (Times paywall)

The debate is, of course, intensely political.

Here is an academic study on the ‘balanced diet’ from a fortnight ago: 

Efforts to lower global meat intake for environmental or other reasons beyond a critical threshold may hinder progress towards reducing undernutrition and the effects this has on both physical and cognitive outcomes, and thereby stifle economic development. This is particularly a concern for populations with increased needs and in regions where current meat intake levels are low, which is not only pertinent for the Global South but also of relevance in high-income countries. role of meat in the human diet: evolutionary aspects and nutritional value | Animal Frontiers | Oxford Academic

The founder and director of the Global Observatory of AccurateLivestock Sciences says “only a small minority of scientists present vegan diets as superior.” Meat vs plant-based: The food debate is polarized, ideologized and tribalized, say scientists

With a response here: Meat vs plant-based: The food debate is polarized, ideologized and tribalized, say scientists

And with a further selection from the press from the last fortnight looking at the issues:

Plant-based products that attempt to mimic the nutritional qualities of meat and dairy are ‘playing a losing game’

How to Achieve a Balanced Diet

Beans on toast can be part of a healthy balanced diet, say nutritionists | The Independent

Can you achieve a balanced diet by eating only meat? A look at the scientific evidence – Health Feedback

Scientists break down the best heart-healthy diets • Earth.com