Plant Rich Diets

Strong links between the rise in unhealthy diets and non-communicable diseases

Introduction

  • 2.5 billion adults worldwide are obese

  • 67% of Australians were overweight or obese

  • Close to 1 billion were affected by hunger

  • 2 billion more experienced moderate or severe food insecurity

  • 4% of Australians reported running out of food in the past 12 months

  • The cost of a healthy and more sustainable diet has been shown to be lower than the current typical diet, in which 60% of the budget is spent of discretionary choices

Processed foods

  • Ultra-processed foods are

    • Readily available

    • Convenient

    • Heavily advertised

    • Have long shelf lives

    • Often ‘cheap’ or on ‘special’

    • High in salt, sugar and fat to improve taste appeal

Environmental Impacts of Agriculture and food production

Agriculture uses

  • 69% of freshwater

  • 34% of land surface

  • 50% of productive land

Responsible for 73% of deforestation

Major driver of biodiversity loss

Feed-lot beef and dairy herds cause high eutrophication as a result of nitrate and phosphate run-off

Australians average 90kg of beef per person per year

Health Impact of food choices

Red meat linked to poor health outcomes

  • 12% increase for each 100g/day of red and processed meat

  • 17% increased relative risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Wholegrains showed

  • 17% reduction for each 90g/day

Dairy showed

  • 13% reduction for every 400g / day

Plant-based diets

  • Prevention and treatment of T2DM

  • Prevention and treatment of heart failure and strokes

  • Reduced risk of heart attacks

Planetary, plant-rich, and sustainable diets

NZ study showed whole-food plant-based diets are also effective for weight loss when delivered as a comprehensive package of lifestyle change = 11-12kg weight loss over 12 months.

Comparison with other diets

Mediterranean diets are relatively plant-rich

Lots of evidence for Mediterranean diets

Protective effect on heart failure

Supporting patients

Plant rich doesn’t mean vegan, just plant focused

  • Change meat type

    • Pasture fed rather than feedlot fed

    • Meat with lower impact e.g. KAngaroo

    • Sustainable fish and white meat

  • Reduce portion size of meat

  • Start with 1 or 2 meat-free days each week

  • Explore different recipes and cooking style for plant rick foods

  • Eat local and in season

  • Reduce food waste

Other strategies include

  • Growing vegetables at home

  • Minimising waste

  • Composting

  • Avoiding non-recyclable products

Reference