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Action on sustainable diets

News | Published  2 March 2018

Sustainable diet roadmap for the food service industry.

Food Service

Sustainable diets that combine food that is healthy for both people and planet is building traction with companies in the foodservice sector leading the way. Veggie dishes and meat-light menus are proliferating across foodservice with operators across the spectrum from Wetherspoon and Pret A Manger to Sodexo and Vacherin increasing these types of more planet-friendly offerings. They are responding to the emergence of a new type of consumer – the flexitarian – who makes vegetables, not meat, the mainstay of their diet and who wants delicious food that meets these criteria when eating out.

Now, a new report from Footprint Intelligence and Nestlé Professional sets out guidance for the food service sector on putting sustainable diets into practice. Action on Sustainable Diets highlights the impacts of food production and distribution for our planet which is responsible for between a fifth and a third of global emissions, with animal products in the spotlight because these typically have a much larger environmental footprint than plant based foods and other protein sources.

“The sheer scale of the impact of food means that the food industry has a significant role and responsibility in helping to meet the commitments of the Paris Accord, which aims to limit average global temperature increases to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Shifting towards sustainable diets is therefore a business and moral imperative, but it is one that provides a significant commercial opportunity.”

The report sets out a framework that creates a common roadmap to help foodservice plan and set parameters over what sustainable diets mean for the sector and how they can be achieved. It identifies four key areas that a foodservice business needs to consider to incorporate the concept of sustainable meals into its offering and provides case studies and practical actions towards:

·      Menus and ingredients

·      Supply chain

·      Waste

·      Education and communication

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT:Action on Sustainable Diets

For more on food companies that are leading the way see Eating Better’s The Future of Eating is Flexitarian.

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Images, some rights reserved:

Fields by Ed Clayton (CC BY 2.0)