A diet to save humankind

When I was a child, my family would always sit down together for meals. My favourite was among the simplest: pasta in tomato sauce. We ate fresh vegetables and fruit, and, starting in our teenage years, sipped a glass of red wine. We ate together. I indulged with a few slices of Italian ham and practised a wide variety of outdoor sports. This centuries - old Mediterranean diet kept me fit and trim - and turned out to be good not just for my personal well-being, but for the planet’s health too.

In 2021 we will celebrate the tenth anniversary of UNESCO’s designation of this Mediterranean diet as a ”Cultural Heritage of Humanity“. 【小题1】 We have started to eat more fast food and have increased our portions. Fewer Italians enjoy social meals with family and friends. Italian children were among the most overweight in a recent study of 30 countries.

Poor nutrition is a global problem, not just an Italian one. The fact that it’s hitting Italy, the land where the Mediterranean diet originated, represents a dangerous paradox(矛盾)- one of many troubling the world of food. After years of decline, hunger is back on the rise. Globally, some 821 m people still do not have enough to eat. Yet while the poor south starves, the rich north gorges: some 2bn people are overweight or obese. We waste one-third of global food production. 【小题2】

【小题3】 The world’s population is expected to increase by 2.3bn people by 2050, fuelling demand for meat. Since the end of the Second World War the global food system has focused on producing more food for more people - but then wastes huge amounts of it. A radical shift is needed. Production must concentrate on delivering better, more nutritious food.

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals can show us the way. They aim to ”end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.“ These goals are ambitious but achievable.

Governments must provide incentives to support sustainable agriculture, slash food waste and meet nutritional challenges. This does not just mean taxing unhealthy foods. 【小题4】 Companies must not be short-sighted, either. They should support legislation requiring them to embrace sustainability.

We must change our diet. A food and environment pyramid which highlights the close links between food’s nutritional value and environmental impact has been devised. This ”double pyramid“ is based on the traditional Mediterranean diet of my childhood. Everyone can and must continue to have fun at the dinner table - while eating what is good for our health and our planet.