According to World Health Organization, at healthy diet for adults should contain at least 400 g (5 portions) of fruits and vegetables a day. Infact, starting on a healthy dietary practice early on in life can reduce the risk of becoming overweight and protect individuals against noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Recently, a committee of top independent scientists and nutrition professionals presented recommendations for the 2015 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The committee concluded that a diet “higher in plant-based foods … and lower in animal-based foods is more health-promoting and is associated with lesser environmental impact.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is advisable to limit the consumption of processed meat and red meat, which are linked to increased risks of death from heart disease, diabetes and other diseases. Likewise, red meat has been classified within category 2A (probably carcinogenic to humans), and processed meat within category 1A (carcinogenic to humans). Within The 1A Category are potential cáncer causing elements like smoking and exposure to asbestos.
Reducing meat consumption is not only good for our health, but eating more plant-based foods is healthier for the planet. Plant foods use much less water and generate less greenhouse gas emissions than animal feed. The Organization of the United Nations for Food and Agriculture (FAO), has determined that livestock is one of the two or three sectors with major negative environmental impacts at local and global levels. This is due to its relationship with land degradation, climate change, air pollution, water scarcity and pollution and the loss of biodiversity.
So, by reducing meat consumption and eating more plant-based foods , you are not only protecting the planet but ensuring a good health for yourself. As the U.S. Dietary Guidelines committee also points out, the benefits of promoting “healthy diets that are more environmentally sustainable now will conserve resources for present and future generations.”
Experts agree
Our diets have been focused too heavily on meat and not enough on plant proteins. Forward Food is a way to begin to balance the scales by giving plant-based foods a more prominent place on today’s plate.
"[A diet that has a] higher proportion of plant-based foods compared to animal-based foods is linked to lower risks of dying from heart disease and stroke."
"The future of health care will involve an evolution toward a paradigm where the prevention and treatment of diseases is centered not a pill or surgical procedure, but on another serving of fruits and vegetables.."
"If everyone in the US ate no meat or cheese just one day a week, it would be like not driving 91 billion miles or taking 7.6 million cars of the road."
