‘Fundamentally flawed’ data in much-heralded diet re - leatherbiz: Lea Leatherbiz

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‘Fundamentally flawed’ data in much-heralded diet report

17/01/2019
‘Fundamentally flawed’ data in much-heralded diet report
The EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health, made up of scientists and campaigners from across the globe, held an official launch event in Oslo on January 17. EAT is non-profit organisation dedicated to “transforming our global food system” to benefit people and the environment. The Lancet is a London-based medical journal.

In advance of the launch, the commission published its recommendations for “a healthy and sustainable diet”. It said people should eat more fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and whole grains, and that many people in wealthier countries should eat less red meat and dairy.

Specifically, it recommends a limit of less than 50 grammes per person per week for beef. The commission has said: “While meat is an important source of key nutrients including protein, iron and vitamin B12, excess meat consumption can harm our health and the planet.”

It goes on to say that foods sourced from animals, especially red meat, have “relatively high environmental footprints per serving compared to other food groups” in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, land use and biodiversity loss. It adds: “This is particularly the case for animal-source foods from grain-fed livestock.”

It calls its diet “the planetary health diet” and has said a shift towards its recommendations can prevent 11 million premature adult deaths per year.

Following the Oslo event, the commission will embark on a tour to present its report and recommendations at events in more than 20 cities around the world, including Paris, Melbourne, Jakarta, Abuja, Dhaka, Beijing, Washington DC, Nairobi, New York, Islamabad and London.

In response, animal science and air quality expert Professor Frank Mitloehner from the University of California, Davis, said he welcomed one aspect of the commission’s recommendations: increased efforts to tackle food waste. However, he was critical of its conclusions regarding livestock farming and greenhouse gas emissions.

Professor Mitloehner said that, although EAT and The Lancet have been “promoting a groundbreaking report” for years, the scientific analysis presents “almost no environmental benefit over business-as-usual scenarios”. He added that he found this “shocking”. He said data in the report concerning links between “the planetary health diet” and greenhouse gas emissions are “fundamentally flawed” because they fail to account for methane reduction that occurs naturally through oxidation.

“Methane remains in the atmosphere for only 10 years,” Professor Mitloehner said. “The carbon emissions from all the flights required for the commission’s global launch tour will have a much longer impact than that of methane from livestock animals.”

Image: EAT


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