Shifting Chinese diets for a win-win of health and the environment

With rapid improvements in agricultural productivity and residents’ income, China has made remarkable advances in reducing hunger and malnutrition, as well as quality improvements in residents’ diets, witnessed by the progressively increasing consumption of fruits, eggs, aquatic products, and milk....

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Autores principales: Sheng, Fangfang, Gao, Haixiu, Fan, Shenggen, Chen, Kevin Z., Zhang, Yumei, Zhu, Chen, Zhao, Qiran
Formato: Capítulo de libro
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142967
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author Sheng, Fangfang
Gao, Haixiu
Fan, Shenggen
Chen, Kevin Z.
Zhang, Yumei
Zhu, Chen
Zhao, Qiran
author_browse Chen, Kevin Z.
Fan, Shenggen
Gao, Haixiu
Sheng, Fangfang
Zhang, Yumei
Zhao, Qiran
Zhu, Chen
author_facet Sheng, Fangfang
Gao, Haixiu
Fan, Shenggen
Chen, Kevin Z.
Zhang, Yumei
Zhu, Chen
Zhao, Qiran
author_sort Sheng, Fangfang
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description With rapid improvements in agricultural productivity and residents’ income, China has made remarkable advances in reducing hunger and malnutrition, as well as quality improvements in residents’ diets, witnessed by the progressively increasing consumption of fruits, eggs, aquatic products, and milk. However, new health and environmental challenges also arise alongside China’s dietary transition. Specifically, overweight and obesity have become increasingly prominent, and the incidence of diet-related chronic diseases has been on the rise. Among all these trends, the significant increase in meat consumption not only led to nutrition and health challenges, but also imposed intense pressure on resources and the environment. There are significant gaps between the current diet of Chinese residents and the recommended diets of the Chinese Dietary Guidelines and the EATLancet Commission. The current Chinese diet is mainly composed of grains, dominated by refined rice and noodles, insufficient coarse food grains, excessive meat, and insufficient consumption of whole grains, fruits, legumes, and milk. Incidence and mortality from diet-related chronic diseases in China would be significantly reduced if the “healthy diet” recommendations of the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, EAT-Lancet, Mediterranean and flexitarian (or low meat) diets were adopted. Deaths in China would be reduced by 1.15 million by 2030 if the population were following the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, or 1.8 million by shifting to the EAT-Lancet diet. At the same time, such a shift would significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. Simulation results show that greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural activities would be reduced by 146-202 million metric tons if residents adopted one of the healthy diets, and by 60-116 million metric tons compared with food consumption at the 2020 level. The flexitarian diet would reduce greenhouse gas emissions the most.
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spelling CGSpace1429672025-12-08T10:06:44Z Shifting Chinese diets for a win-win of health and the environment Sheng, Fangfang Gao, Haixiu Fan, Shenggen Chen, Kevin Z. Zhang, Yumei Zhu, Chen Zhao, Qiran policies food policies covid-19 health healthy diets environment nutrition agrifood systems diet With rapid improvements in agricultural productivity and residents’ income, China has made remarkable advances in reducing hunger and malnutrition, as well as quality improvements in residents’ diets, witnessed by the progressively increasing consumption of fruits, eggs, aquatic products, and milk. However, new health and environmental challenges also arise alongside China’s dietary transition. Specifically, overweight and obesity have become increasingly prominent, and the incidence of diet-related chronic diseases has been on the rise. Among all these trends, the significant increase in meat consumption not only led to nutrition and health challenges, but also imposed intense pressure on resources and the environment. There are significant gaps between the current diet of Chinese residents and the recommended diets of the Chinese Dietary Guidelines and the EATLancet Commission. The current Chinese diet is mainly composed of grains, dominated by refined rice and noodles, insufficient coarse food grains, excessive meat, and insufficient consumption of whole grains, fruits, legumes, and milk. Incidence and mortality from diet-related chronic diseases in China would be significantly reduced if the “healthy diet” recommendations of the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, EAT-Lancet, Mediterranean and flexitarian (or low meat) diets were adopted. Deaths in China would be reduced by 1.15 million by 2030 if the population were following the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, or 1.8 million by shifting to the EAT-Lancet diet. At the same time, such a shift would significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. Simulation results show that greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural activities would be reduced by 146-202 million metric tons if residents adopted one of the healthy diets, and by 60-116 million metric tons compared with food consumption at the 2020 level. The flexitarian diet would reduce greenhouse gas emissions the most. 2021-10-15 2024-05-22T12:11:24Z 2024-05-22T12:11:24Z Book Chapter https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142967 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/143122 Open Access Sheng, Fangfang; Gao, Haixiu; Fan, Shenggen; Chen, Kevin Z.; Zhang, Yumei; Zhu, Chen; and Zhao, Qiran. 2021. Shifting Chinese diets for a win-win of health and the environment. In 2021 China and global food report: Rethinking agrifood systems for the post-COVID world, Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy, China Agricultural University (AGFEP); China Academy for Rural Development, Zhejiang University (CARD); Centre for International Food and Agricultural Economics, Nanjing Agricultural University (CIFAE); Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IAED); International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Chapter 3, Pp. 30-45. http://agfep.cau.edu.cn/module/download/downfile.jsp?classid=0&filename=2105141928327359.pdf
spellingShingle policies
food policies
covid-19
health
healthy diets
environment
nutrition
agrifood systems
diet
Sheng, Fangfang
Gao, Haixiu
Fan, Shenggen
Chen, Kevin Z.
Zhang, Yumei
Zhu, Chen
Zhao, Qiran
Shifting Chinese diets for a win-win of health and the environment
title Shifting Chinese diets for a win-win of health and the environment
title_full Shifting Chinese diets for a win-win of health and the environment
title_fullStr Shifting Chinese diets for a win-win of health and the environment
title_full_unstemmed Shifting Chinese diets for a win-win of health and the environment
title_short Shifting Chinese diets for a win-win of health and the environment
title_sort shifting chinese diets for a win win of health and the environment
topic policies
food policies
covid-19
health
healthy diets
environment
nutrition
agrifood systems
diet
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142967
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