MUTUAL NEED, MUTUAL COMPATIBILITY Michael W. Hamm C.S. Mott - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

U.S. DIETARY GUIDELINES AND SUSTAINABILITY: MUTUAL NEED, MUTUAL COMPATIBILITY Michael W. Hamm C.S. Mott Professor of Sustainable Agriculture Senior Fellow, Center for Regional Food Systems MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

REMINDER OF WHAT HAPPENS …  Congress authorized creation, every five years, of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee under the joint auspices of USDA and DHHS.  The committee meets for two years, submits it’s report to the two Secretaries, and is disbanded. MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

THIS YEAR THE DGAC DECIDED TO APPROACH ISSUE OF SUSTAINABILITY  Similar to how has addressed physical activity  Why? “ Addressing this complex challenge is essential to ensure a healthy food supply will be available for future generations.”  Used two FAO definitions (with modification):  “Sustainable diets are a pattern of eating that promotes health and well-being and provides food security for the present population while sustaining human and natural resources for future generations.”  “Food security exists when all people now, and in the future , have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life .” MSU Center for Regional Food Systems Millen, B. et al (2015). Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. @MSUCRFS Find at: http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientific-report/

HOW? Existing DGAC expertise Articles identified through plus two consultants database searching (n=1685) PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Navigator Used a rigorous Articles screened (Title) methodology for (n=1685) vetting the papers Articles screened (Abstract) (n=87) Full-text articles reviewed (n=24) Hand search (n=1) Studies included (15) MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

WHAT DID THE DGAC FUNDAMENTALLY SAY IN REPORT …  Interested in dietary patterns and not individual foods  Dietary guidelines for health and for sustainability are fundamentally compatible  Increase fruits and vegetables, decrease meat somewhat  Decrease calories to help achieve and maintain healthy body weight MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

WHAT THE DGAC REPORT DID NOT EXPLICITLY ADDRESS …  The way we produce our food – variations in production systems within a food  The way we manage wastes … including human waste  Relationship between where food is produced and where it is consumed – and potential for improving sustainability  Relationship of production location to energy and water availability  All of these could/will have a major impact on improving the sustainability of our dietary patterns MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

WHY IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER? MSU Center for Regional Food Systems Photo from: http://pasturedairy.kbs.msu.edu/research/ongoing_research/ @MSUCRFS

THE ANTHROPOCENE ERA Waters, C. N., Zalasiewicz, J., Summerhayes, C., Barnosky, A. D., Poirier, C., Galuszka, A., MSU Center for Regional Food Systems . . . Wolfe, A. P. (2016). The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from @MSUCRFS the Holocene. Science, 351 (6269), aad2622. doi:10.1126/science.aad2622

MORE THAN JUST ABOUT CARBON … MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

PLANETARY BOUNDARIES NOTION Rockstrom, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, A., Chapin, F. S., 3rd, Lambin, E. F., . . . Foley, J. A. (2009a). A safe operating space for humanity. @MSUCRFS Nature, 461 (7263), 472-475.

K.Raworth (2012) A safe and just space MSU Center for Regional Food Systems for humanity: can we live within the donut? @MSUCRFS

GLOBAL FOOD PRODUCTION  Global food production impact on natural resources:  80% of deforestation  >70% of fresh water use  <=30% of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions  Largest cause of species biodiversity loss  Largest cause of P flows to fresh and saltwater MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

COMMON STATEMENT “The world will need 70% more food to feed a population of 9.4 billion” Is this accurate? Under what conditions is this accurate? MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

CLOSE TO TRUE … IF ...  All countries around world experience a nutrition transition and eat like the U.S. dietary pattern  There is no reduction in the amount of food that is wasted  There is no dietary pattern change in the developed world MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

IN OTHER WORDS …  There is no reason for this to be necessary EXCEPT for our unwillingness to recognize that change needs to occur MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

MEETING GLOBAL FOOD NEEDS WILL DEPEND ON FOUR CONCURRENT APPROACHES:  1) Altering individual and population dietary patterns;  2) Adopting existing and developing new agricultural production practices that reduce impacts and conserve resources;  3) More equitable distribution of resources; and  4) Reduction of food waste MSU Center for Regional Food Systems Adapted from: Garnett T. Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions. Proc Nutr Soc. 2013 Feb;72:29 – 39 @MSUCRFS

WHAT CAN WE SAY ABOUT DIETARY PATTERNS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE U.S.? MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

DGAC CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK MSU Center for Regional Food Systems Millen, B. et al (2015). Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. @MSUCRFS Find at: http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientific-report/

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME DATA … MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

LAND REQUIREMENTS FOR VARYING MEAT INTAKES Peters, C. J., et al. (2007). "Testing a complete-diet model for estimating the land resource requirements of food consumption and agricultural carrying capacity: The New York State example." Renewable Agriculture and Food @MSUCRFS Systems 22 (02): 145.

FIG. 2. GHG EMISSIONS PER DAY ACCORDING TO THE 6 DIETS AND BROKEN DOWN INTO 7 FOOD GROUPS (FEMALE ADULTS). EH = ENERGY USE IN THE HOUSEHOLD PHASE. MSU Center for Regional Food Systems C. van Dooren et al. (2014) Exploring dietary guidelines based on ecological and Nutritional values: A comparison of six dietary patterns.Food Policy 44; 36 – 46. @MSUCRFS

FIG. 3. LAND USE (M2YEAR/DAY) PER DAY ACCORDING TO THE 6 DIETS AND BROKEN DOWN INTO 7 FOOD GROUPS (FEMALE ADULTS). MSU Center for Regional Food Systems C. van Dooren et al. (2014) Exploring dietary guidelines based on ecological and Nutritional values: A comparison of six dietary patterns.Food Policy 44; 36 – 46. @MSUCRFS

MSU Center for Regional Food Systems M.C. Heller & G.A. Keoleian (2014) Greenhouse Gas Emission Estimates of U.S. Dietary Choices and Food Loss. J.Ind.Ecol., 19:3, p. 391-401 @MSUCRFS

MSU Center for Regional Food Systems M.C. Heller & G.A. Keoleian (2014) Greenhouse Gas Emission Estimates of U.S. Dietary Choices and Food Loss. J.Ind.Ecol., 19:3, p. 391-401 @MSUCRFS

AND FROM THE UK … P. Scarborough et al (2014) Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, MSU Center for Regional Food Systems fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK. Climatic Change. 125:179 – 192 @MSUCRFS DOI 10.1007/s10584-014-1169-1

LOOKED AT GLOBALLY MSU Center for Regional Food Systems Tilman, D., & Clark, M. (2014). Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health. Nature, 515 (7528), 518-522. doi:10.1038/nature13959 @MSUCRFS

MSU Center for Regional Food Systems Tilman, D., & Clark, M. (2014). Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health. Nature, 515 (7528), 518-522. doi:10.1038/nature13959 @MSUCRFS

CONSIDERATIONS AND FINAL POINTS  There are a couple of studies that disagree with this  This doesn’t take into account variation in production strategies  E.g. of beef and pasture v. grain  E.g. of high-efficiency water use (trickle irrigation for e.g)  Intra- vs inter- food item and sustainability  The U.S. has a high calcium (hence dairy) recommended intake compared to most other countries – this complicates things in our case since 50% of total calcium consumption is from dairy in U.S. MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

HOW SOME OF OTHER VARIABLES BECOME IMPORTANT! MSU Center for Regional Food Systems Photo Credit: Dr. Jason Rowntree, Dept. Animal Sciences @MSUCRFS

BEEF AND U.S. POPULATION GROWTH U.S.� Beef� Consumption� Table� 2 2020 2050 Constant� Per� Capita� +2.2� billion� +.5� billion� kgs Consumption kgs Constant� National� 26.4� � 22.3� Production kg/person kg/person Currently about 28 kg/person/yr MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

E.G. RELATIVE LOCATION OF PRODUCTION MSU Center for Regional Food Systems Photos from: MSU Student Organic Farm @MSUCRFS

SEASONAL CHALLENGE FOR MI MSU Center for Regional Food Systems @MSUCRFS

SYSTEM LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS Carbon Emissions from Distant vs. Hoophouse Leaf Lettuce Production 1.2 1 Ratio = 5.3 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 MI CA R. Plawecki, R. Pirog, A. Montri, and M. W. Hamm (2013) Comparative carbon footprint assessment of winter lettuce production in two climatic zones for Midwestern market. RAFS. @MSUCRFS

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