2022-05-30
A devastating report by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre recently published shows that food consumption accounts for 50% of the ecological footprint of general consumption in Spain. According to eldiario.es, 'the ecological footprint to satisfy intensive consumption grows based on polluting the air, degrading water, extracting resources or exacerbating climate change'.
In addition, it is noteworthy that, in Spain, this footprint not only grows but is greater than in the average of the EU28 countries.
The report shows that the way of producing and consuming food in Spain is mainly responsible for the environmental impacts – up to 52% of the ecological footprint – and that returning to the Mediterranean diet would very significantly reduce these impacts. "Food consumption is by far the main driver of environmental impacts generated on average by a person." Intensive food production systems (intensive agriculture and livestock) cause a saturation of nutrients in the soil and the sea, affecting the ozone layer, causing the acidification of ecosystems and making massive use of water and soil.
According to the report cited, a 25% reduction in the consumption of intensively generated products would reduce by an average of 20% impact effects such as eutrophication of the soil and the sea. Therefore, it is demanded to return to a diet with more vegetables and less meat, obtained with production and distribution systems that are more respectful of the environment. Moreover, if the consumption of these intensively produced foods fell by 50% to adapt more to the traditional Mediterranean diet, the environmental improvement would be greater, up to 40% better.
The question is: but what has happened to the Mediterranean diet? Simply, it is in decline and is no longer Spain's own, as it is only followed by only 45% of the population. According to the Spanish Federation of Societies of Nutrition, Food and Dietetics (Fesnad), the Mediterranean diet consists of eating fruits and vegetables every day, limiting red meat to two servings per week and a weekly serving of processed meat.
References:
https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/volver-dieta-mediterranea-reduciria-mitad-dano-ambiental-causa-alimentacion_1_9007285.html
https://dietamediterranea.com/en/
https://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/uploads/consumptionFootprint1.png
https://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/sustainableConsumption.html
