Diet for a Green Planet incorporates sustainability in several areas.
Climate
- Food production uses energy and causes emissions, including greenhouse gases. Therefore, for example, food wastage needs to be reduced.
- Meat production requires large areas and causes high emissions. Meat consumption needs to be reduced, in favor of more plant-based foods.
- We need to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This can be done by creating carbon sinks, where biomass and soil organic matter containing carbon are built up.
- Transport is energy intensive, it needs to be reduced and done in a way that minimizes climate impact.
Baltic Sea and eutrophication (nutrient leakage)
- The Baltic Sea is one of the world's most polluted seas, mainly because of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. A very large part comes from agriculture.
- We need farming methods that don’t emit large amounts of nutrients into the bodies of water. Avoidance of commercial fertilizers is one way, but another is also by controlling the number of farm animals in one place. The land area and the number of animals need to be in balance with each other, for example through Ecological Regenerative Agriculture.
Health
- For good health, we need a varied and nutritious diet. Vitamins, minerals and fiber are plentiful in vegetables, wholegrain products and legumes.
- Meat and meat products should be eaten in moderation.
Biodiversity and Soil fertility
- A varied cultivation method with a combination of different plants and animals provides a greater biodiversity in both the landscape, fields and soil.
- Organic farming promotes biodiversity both in the soil and in the landscape by not using industrial chemical pesticides.
- A living soil contains millions of microorganisms that make it fertile and are part of biodiversity.
Land and use
- We have about 1.4 billion hectares of arable land on the whole Earth. This means that every person has about 2000 m2 arable land at their disposal.
- In Sweden, our food consumption corresponds to production from nearly double the area. Diet for a Green Planet gives us the opportunity to eat what can be grown on 2000 m2.
