Sustainable food within planetary boundaries

WWF Germany has published a summary of the results of the study conducted by corsus on the environmental impacts of food. The culinary compass for a healthy diet within planetary boundaries is available for download: The taste of the future

The underlying life cycle assessment study balances the effects of nutrition in Germany on climate, biodiversity, freshwater scarcity and land use. For the study “The taste of the future: Culinary Compass for a Healthy Planet”, corsus translated the recommendations of the Eat Lancet Commission into three scenarios for Germany: an average flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan diet.

As part of the project “Besseresser:innen planetarisch-kulinarisch”, WWF Germany had recipe suggestions developed for all meals for an entire week. These are also available for download in German.

What we eat every day plays a major role in the health of people and the planet.
The cultivation of plants and especially the keeping of animals for consumption, as well as the processing and transport of food, have a relevance to climate protection, water scarcity and biodiversity that should not be underestimated. Sustainable shopping and eating habits can help to reduce the negative impact of food consumption on the Earth. Currently, food systems globally are exceeding planetary boundaries. The study showed that a vegetarian or vegan diet could almost halve the climate and land footprint as well as the biodiversity footprint. The scarcity-weighted water footprint, on the other hand, would increase – caused by the current consumption of citrus fruits and almonds.