Scotland is leading the way in improving their population’s diet and therefore, their health. Edinburgh was the first city in Europe to sign the Plant-Based Treaty, which is will “improve access to plant-based foods among residents, promote food security and lower emissions.” (source)
It seems that the main reason behind this treaty is to mitigate climate change, which would explain the emphasis on reducing animal product consumption since animal agriculture is a leading cause of deforestation and GHG emissions. To quote from the prestigious journal Nature: “The UK Committee on Climate Change has stated that if the government is to achieve its ambitious targets for carbon reductions, then rapid progress must be made across all sectors including implementing measures to encourage consumers to shift diets19. Shifts in diets towards plant-based consumption was also emphasized in the 2021 National Food Strategy, which called for a 30% reduction in meat consumption”. (source)
As part of the Plant-Based Treaty, there is one meat-free day per week across all primary school sites, and secondary schools now provide 100% meat-free main meals one single day per week. This is a great step in the right direction, we know that most children in the UK don’t eat enough vegetables, so adding just a single meat-free day per week helps increase vegetable consumption. Moreover, meat is to be replaced, ideally, by high-protein foods like black beans, chickpeas and lentils, which have proven to be one of the healthiest food choices on the planet.
Creating Healthy Environments
“To promote healthier choices and encourage pupils to increase their consumption of fruit, vegetables and salad items, freshly prepared fruit pots/ fruit platters are now on offer. Many schools have a salad bar where pupils can help themselves. These have been very popular with pupils, showing a significant increase in the amount of salad and vegetables being consumed.”
It’s great to see that simply offering the option of fruit platters and salad items increases pupil’s consumption of such items. This speaks to the importance of creating healthy environments where the healthy choice is the most accessible.
It’s important to note that alongside physical activity, avoiding smoking, avoiding drinking, and staying at a healthy weight, following a diet rich in plant foods plays a major role in disease prevention and longevity (source). As a consequence, Edinburgh’s decision to agree to this initiative will not only help mitigate climate change, but it will also improve the health of children. This is a major win.
Food Bill
“Oxford University research published in the Lancet Planetary Health has revealed that in countries like the UK, adopting a vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian diet could slash food bill by up to one-third.”
This was part of the Equality and Poverty Impact section of the report. Contrary to popular belief, plants are cheaper than meat. The best replacement for meat is legumes, and we can buy 1kg of beans for less than £3. As a reference, 1 can of black beans from Tesco costs about 60p and has 240g of beans. Times that by 4 and you get 1kg of black beans for £2.40. On the other hand, to buy 1kg of chicken breast would cost £6.
For us to see benefits in the 3 above-mentioned areas we wouldn’t even need to adopt a fully plant-based diet. Simply reducing animal product consumption would have a massive benefit, this could be 1 meal per week, 1 whole day per week, or even more. I must highlight that this is already what the leading authorities in nutrition and non-communicable diseases already suggest – make plants the majority of your diet, such organizations include The World Cancer Research Forum, Alzheimers’ Research UK, The British Heart Association, and many more.
Summary
- Scotland is leading the way in looking after the population’s health by agreeing to the Plant-Based Treaty.
- Making plant-based foods more available will have a 3-fold effect – healthier populations, mitigation of climate change, and lower food bills (reduced food insecurity).
- It is a scientific consensus that one of the best ways to prevent disease and improve longevity is by increasing the consumption of plant-based foods while reducing the consumption of animal-based foods.
