The future on a platter: what does sustainable nutrition mean?

Sustainable nutrition means providing healthy food for present and future generations without depleting the Earth’s resources, causing irreversible environmental damage, and taking into account socio-economic aspects. The WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) created a joint definition for the concept in 2010 – however, implementing this remains a significant challenge.

The diet of the Hungarian population is unsustainable in many ways: we consume too much animal-based food, red meat and processed products, while there are too few vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and oilseeds in our diet. This not only endangers our health – it contributes to cardiovascular diseases and obesity, for example – but is also unfavorable from an ecological perspective, as animal husbandry and the production of processed foods are particularly resource-intensive and polluting.

According to the MDOSZ recommendation, reducing meat consumption and prioritizing a plant-based diet is one of the most important steps towards sustainability. This does not necessarily mean a vegan lifestyle, but rather a shift towards a flexitarian, i.e. a flexible plant-based diet: 1–2 meat-free days a week, including more legumes, nuts and vegetables on the menu.

Shortening the food supply chain – for example, choosing local products, consuming seasonal vegetables and fruits – not only reduces carbon dioxide emissions, but also supports the livelihood of domestic farmers. In addition, reducing food waste is also key: in the EU, an average of 127 kilograms of food is thrown away per person per year, which represents a huge environmental and economic loss.

Sustainability is no longer just a matter for environmentalists, but also appears in health nutrition recommendations, say dieticians. According to new trends, dietary recommendations should take into account not only health, but also environmental impacts. A sustainable diet should therefore be healthy, safe, culturally acceptable and economically affordable.