Your health is what you eat: the role of nutrition in healthPosted in:Diet, Health, Nutrition, Vegetable Food SourcesThis Thought for Food from Professor and researcher in Health Economics at the University of Sao Paulo, Flavia Mori Sarti, focuses on the importance of healthy diets based on regular intake of fruit and vegetables to maintain health and prevent the onset of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), alongside the potential impacts on health care costs. In… read more...
The life of your food: A discussion of LCAsPosted in:Energy Consumption, Food Systems, Production, SustainabilityA low impact lifestyle has become desirable as the consequences of our excessive consumption are exposed. However, how do we assess the environmental impacts that our product choices have? Here, we discuss the use of life cycle analyses (LCAs) and the challenges and opportunities these pose in estimating the environmental impact of our food systems.… read more...
Trading in soil carbon stocksPosted in:Food Systems, Production, Sustainability, Vegetable Food SourcesSoil carbon has become a hot topic, with carbon sequestration in soil a possible method for reducing atmospheric CO2. But this isn’t an easy task, and there’s a lot more to soil carbon than just sequestration. Here, we provide an overview of soil carbon flows and what they mean in the context of the global… read more...
GMO crops in the global food systemPosted in:Animal Food Sources, Diet, Food Systems, Health, Nutrition, Production, Sustainability, Vegetable Food Sources, WasteGenetically modified organisms (GMO) are already major contributors to the global food system since their commercial introduction in the 1990s. For example, over 90% of US corn and soy acreage is planted with GMO seeds. Despite this, the use of GMO is still controversial, with many individuals against their use and many authorities strictly regulating their production and consumption. Here, the arguments for and against GMO use in crop production are presented. GMO are defined as organisms, and products thereof, that are produced through techniques in… read more...
Saturated factsPosted in:Animal Food Sources, Diet, Health, Mortality, Nutrition, Vegetable Food SourcesFor nearly 50 years it has been believed that saturated fat is linked to heart disease. However, the scientific evidence does not universally support this assertion and recommendations are being made to change dietary guidelines and public knowledge around saturated fat. In response to increasing rates of heart disease in Western populations in the mid-20th century, the results of epidemiological studies comparing diets in different countries suggested that saturated… read more...
Food choice varies by individual contextPosted in:Diet, NutritionThe options available to feed the world are not the same as the options available to feed individuals. Individuals, particularly those that can afford to, have a lot more choice in their foods and diets, including fortified foods and supplements to ensure their nutrient requirements are met. However, this is not necessarily the case on… read more...
Your health is what you eat: the role of nutrition in health Posted in: Diet, Health, Nutrition, Vegetable Food Sources This Thought for Food from Professor and researcher in Health Economics at the University of Sao Paulo, Flavia Mori Sarti, focuses on the importance of healthy diets based on regular intake of fruit and vegetables to maintain health and prevent the onset of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), alongside the potential impacts on health care costs. In… read more...
