One of the many benefits of the U.S. food system is a safe, nutritious, and consistent food supply. However, the same system also places significant strain on land, water, air, and other natural resources. A better understanding of the food-environment synergies and trade-offs associated with the U.S. food system would help to reduce this strain. Many experts would like to use that knowledge to develop dietary recommendations on the basis of environmental as well as nutritional considerations. But identifying and quantifying those synergies and trade-offs, let alone acting on them, is a challenge in and of itself. The difficulty stems in part from the reality that experts in the fields of nutrition, agricultural science, and natural resource use often do not regularly collaborate with each other, with the exception of some international efforts.

Sustainable Diets is the summary of a workshop convened by The Institute of Medicine's Food Forum and Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine in May 2013 to engender dialogue between experts in nutrition and experts in agriculture and natural resource sustainability and to explore current and emerging knowledge on the food and nutrition policy implications of the increasing environmental constraints on the food system. Experts explored the relationship between human health and the environment, including the identification and quantification of the synergies and trade-offs of their impact. This report explores the role of the food price environment and how environmental sustainability can be incorporated into dietary guidance and considers research priorities, policy implications, and drivers of consumer behaviors that will enable sustainable food choices.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• PLANNING COMMITTEE ON A WORKSHOP ON SUSTAINABLE DIETS: FOOD FOR HEALTHY PEOPLE AND A HEALTHY PLANET
• FOOD FORUM
• ROUNDTABLE ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES, RESEARCH, AND MEDICINE
• Reviewers
• 1. Introduction
  • ROADMAP FOR THIS REPORT
  • KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
  • REFERENCES
• 2. Defining Relationships: Synergies and Trade-Offs Between Health and Environmental Impacts
  • PRIORITY AGRICULTURE–ENVIRONMENTAL–NUTRITION LINKAGES FOR SUSTAINABLE DIETS
  • FISH, FISHERIES, AND FOOD SECURITY
  • ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF MEAT: GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
  • PANEL DISCUSSION WITH THE AUDIENCE
  • REFERENCES
• 3. Quantifying Synergies and Trade-Offs: Moving Forward from Conceptual Links to Empirical Data
  • QUANTIFYING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF DIETS
  • LAND USE EFFECTS OF VARIOUS DIET PATTERNS
  • LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF DIETARY PATTERNS
  • PANEL DISCUSSION WITH THE AUDIENCE
  • REFERENCES
• 4. The Food Price Environment
  • PROJECTED FOOD PRICES: THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS
  • THE EFFECT OF NATURAL RESOURCE SCARCITY ON COMMODITY SOURCING
  • CAN ECONOMIC INCENTIVES DRIVE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND HEALTHIER DIETS
  • PANEL DISCUSSION WITH THE AUDIENCE
  • REFERENCES
• 5. Options and Approaches to Enable Sustainable Food Choices
  • LESSONS FROM ACROSS THE ATLANTIC: POLICY FAULTINESS AND POLICY POSSIBILITIES ON SUSTAINABLE DIETS
  • POLICY IMPLICATIONS
  • OPTIONS AND APPROACHES TO ENABLE SUSTAINABLE FOOD CHOICES: RESEARCH PRIORITIES
  • PANEL DISCUSSION WITH THE AUDIENCE
  • REFERENCES
• 6. Moving Forward
  • BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FOOD ENVIRONMENT AND CHOICES
  • REFLECTIONS OF DEREK YACH
  • REFLECTIONS OF ERIK OLSON
  • LISA EAKMAN'S TAKE-HOME MESSAGES
  • REFERENCES
• APPENDIXES
  • A Abbreviations and Acronyms
  • B Workshop Agenda
  • C Speaker Biographical Sketches

Rapporteur: Leslie Pray.

This activity was supported by Contract Nos. HHSP233201200333P (Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health), HHSN26300002 (National Institutes of Health), and 59-1235-2-114, CNPP-IOM-FY2012-01, FS-IOM-FY2012-01, and AG-3A94-P-12-0088 (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and with the National Academy of Sciences. Additional support came from Abbott Laboratories, Cargill, Inc., ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Inc., Kellogg Company, Kraft Foods, Mars, Inc., McDonald's, Mead Johnson and Company, Monsanto Company, Nestlé Nutrition, PepsiCo, and The Coca-Cola Company. The views presented in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the activity.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2014. Sustainable diets: Food for healthy people and a healthy planet: Workshop summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The workshop that is the subject of this workshop summary was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.