The public health rationale for promoting plant protein as an important part of a sustainable and healthy diet

Abstract

Sustainable diets are proposed as a means to improve public health and food security and to reduce the impact of the food system on the environment. Guidance around sustainable diets includes a reduction of animal products in order to move towards a more plant‐based diet, meaning that plant‐originated foods are a predominant, but not the sole component of a diet. The main principles of a sustainable diet (as provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization) are to consume a variety of unprocessed or minimally processed foods, mainly as wholegrains, pulses, fruits and vegetables, with moderate amounts of eggs, dairy, poultry and fish and modest amounts of ruminant meat, which are consistent with the current UK healthy eating recommendations (e.g. Eatwell Guide). The aim of this review was twofold: (i) to discuss public health challenges associated with consumers’ knowledge regarding protein sustainability, healthier protein sources and protein requirements, and (ii) to review potential approaches to facilitate the shift towards a more sustainable diet. Consumers would benefit from receiving clear guidance around how much protein is needed to meet their daily requirements. The public health message directed to a consumer could highlight that desired health outcomes, such as muscle protein synthesis and weight control, can be achieved with both sources of protein (i.e. animal and plant‐based), and that what is more important is the nature of the ‘protein package’. Health promotion and education around the benefits of plant‐based protein could be one of the strategies encouraging the wider population to consider a shift towards a predominantly plant‐based diet.

Sustainable Agri-Food Systems: Environment, Economy, Society, and Policy

“…Nevertheless, the studies on racism and racial issues have mainly come from the US. Some scholars have called for paying more attention to the relations between agrifood systems, especially diets, and health [253,[312][313][314][315]. This is done, among other ways, by operationalizing the holistic and systemic concept of "One Health" [24,316,317], which relates the health of humans with that of animals and ecosystems/environment.…”

Genomic resources for lupins are coming of age

“…Grain legumes are also valued for their nutritional benefits for both human and livestock consumption (Duranti & Gius, 1997; Proskina & Pilvere, 2019; Rubio & Molina, 2016; Santa & Rekiel, 2020), where they can provide valuable levels of major nutrients such as protein, dietary fibre and carbohydrates. Recently, interest in grain legumes has grown due to the relatively high levels of protein in their grains and the rapidly growing demand for plant protein in human diets (Lonnie & Johnstone, 2020; Murphy‐Bokern et al, 2017; Sa et al, 2020).…”

Influencing Factors of a Sustainable Vegetable Choice. The Romanian Consumers’ Case

“…Eating vegetables is a multifaced issue since childhood and, for some of us, until the end of our lives. The importance of vegetables in nutrition is acknowledged in various studies [1,2], the consumption of this food category being widely promoted through public policies [1,3], food education [4][5][6][7], and, in a newer context, as taking action towards sustainable development [8,9]. However, people still tend to eat more animal proteins instead of vegetable proteins.…”

“…Considering the previous studies on the topic of sustainable diets, their definition includes references to nutritional aspects [3,11,25], social aspects [26,27], economic aspects [28,29] and not last, environmental aspects, such as: type of production, inputs, water usage, provenance, and even transportation and storage of the products [29,30]. Yet, providing a clear definition for a sustainable diet is still not possible [31], since the four aspects are not self-defined, but they are interrelated [32,33].…”

“…Additionally, through their studies, they propose alternatives to the current consumption patterns. For example, sustainable diets [3], change of language on vegetable product labels into a more stimulating one [85], plant-based and oat-based protein consumption [22], or food education for children and parents [6,86], therefore aiming at the health aspect of a sustainable food choice [87].…”