The way food is eaten in India has been ranked as the most sustainable, as per data from the Living Planet Report 2024, recently released by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The report emphasises the need for climate-friendly food consumption patterns around the globe. It has specifically detailed the patterns for the G20 countries, highlighting how many of them exceed the “planetary climate boundary for food”. This boundary indicates the maximum amount of greenhouse gas emissions that food systems can emit to stay within 1.5 degrees C of warming.
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“Any gains from more sustainable food production will count for little if we don’t also address food consumption. If everyone in the world adopted the current food consumption patterns of the world’s major economies by 2050, we exceed the 1.5 degrees C climate target for food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 263% and require one to seven Earths to support us,” the report predicts. However, two countries – India and Indonesia – have not exceeded the “planetary climate boundary for food”.
If all nations followed the dietary patterns (in terms of consumption) of these two, the world would need less than “one Earth” to meet food demands, the report suggests. The figure for India is the lowest at 0.84 – implying that the planet’s resources would suffice for fulfilling food needs as per this system, without crossing the greenhouse gas emission limit. The report mentions the National Millet Campaign in India and underlines the role of local traditions in meeting global goals. It states, “Achieving healthy and nutritious diets will be heavily influenced by local cultural traditions, individual choice and available food… In some countries, promoting traditional foods will be an important lever to shift diets. For example, the National Millet Campaign in India is designed to increase national consumption of this ancient grain, which is good for health and highly resilient in the face of climate change.”
Photo Credit: WWF Living Planet Report 2024
The food consumption patterns of countries like Argentina, Australia, and the United States have been ranked as the least sustainable. The report has provided contextual suggestions that could help improve the situation. It explains, “For developed countries, dietary shifts need to include a greater proportion of plant-based foods and fewer animal products. At the same time, for countries facing significant burdens of undernutrition, hunger and food insecurity, achieving nutritious diets may require increasing consumption, including of animal-source foods.”
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