“Why is the way we eat so important?” asks Tony Long of WWF EU in an op ed for Euractiv, “Today the average European consumes almost 3,500 calories a day – 25% more than the daily recommended level – and eats approximately 70% more protein (mostly animal) than recommended. Obesity in Europe is at an all-time high and rising, causing heart diseases, strokes, diabetes and 10-13% of all deaths, according to the WHO. It has become one of the biggest health challenges of our time, costing our governments billions of euros in health bills. But the way we eat doesn’t only affect our health; it affects our environment as well.”
Long presents a study conducted by the WWF and Friends of the Earth sponsored by the European Union called LiveWell.
The study has identified key health and environmental issues which constitute a healthy and green diet and have converted them into “livewell plates” for Sweden, France and Spain as first case studies. Only a first step towards sustainable diets, the authors, emphasise. But an important one.
