Development Trends of Dietary Guidelines Considering Sustainability in Europe

This study aims to provide foundational data for improving dietary guidelines in Korea by analyzing the development trends of sustainability-focused dietary guidelines in 24 European countries, in response to the global shift toward sustainable diet. European countries have recently made rapid progress toward Sustainable Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (SFBDGs). While there are variations among nations, European nations share common guidelines, such as increasing plant-based food consumption, prioritizing local and seasonal produce, reducing meat intake, minimizing food waste, and choosing sustainable fish species, aligning with the recommendations proposed by the FAO (2016). Countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, and Finland have introduced detailed, evidence-based guidelines, encouraging their citizens to choose foods with a lower environmental impact for each food group. In contrast, the “Dietary Guidelines for Koreans” focused primarily on nutrition and health, with only a brief mention of environmentally conscious eating. The absence of clear, detailed guidelines diminishes its effectiveness as an educational tool. Therefore, to support a transition toward sustainable diets in alignment with the National Basic Plan for Food Education, it is essential to develop more detailed guidelines that specify what sustainable practices to follow and how to implement them across all stages— shopping, storage, cooking, consumption, and waste disposal. The findings of this study are expected to serve as foundational data for the development of “Sustainable Dietary Guidelines for Koreans.”