Meat and the future of sustainable diets—Challenges and opportunities

The British Nutrition Foundation convened a roundtable event in January 2024 entitled 'Meat and the Future of Sustainable Diets: Turning Challenges into Opportunities', bringing together multi-sector stakeholders to discuss the social, nutritional, public health and environmental aspects of meat consumption within a sustainable food system. Participants explored the challenge of the complexity of balancing nutrition and planetary goals, emphasising the need to navigate trade-offs between various dimensions of sustainability. Whilst recognising the global nature of the issue, the roundtable primarily focussed on a UK perspective. The discussion highlighted the urgency of transforming the food system to achieve net zero, whilst ensuring broader environmental benefits, nutritional adequacy and dietary and health equity across all life stages. Concerns about poor dietary patterns, particularly among vulnerable groups were raised, with participants stressing the need for policies that promote healthy, sustainable and equitable diets without worsening inequalities. These policies should also enhance livelihoods and community wellbeing, foster resilience and support local economies. On the supply side, participants called for better data within the agri-food system, particularly at the farm level. They advocated for a multidimensional, holistic approach that goes beyond greenhouse gas emissions to encompass wider environmental impacts and whole-farm benefits, such as enhancing soil health, promoting biodiversity, improving water management, supporting nutrient cycling and boosting farm-level resilience through diversified cropping systems. Roundtable participants acknowledged existing recommendations to reduce meat consumption for both environmental reasons, such as land use and greenhouse gas emissions, and health concerns, as evidence links red, particularly processed, meat consumption with increased colorectal cancer risk. Given the variation in meat consumption globally and even locally between individuals, the discussion explored the potential of targeted campaigns to reduce high meat intake, along with the role of public food procurement and the food industry in decreasing processed meat consumption. The consensus was that dietary changes must be framed within the context of a balanced diet and broader sustainability concerns. Despite some differing viewpoints on implementation, participants agreed that transitioning to healthier, more sustainable diets is a priority. Collaboration across the entire food chain, from farm to fork, with investment in innovation, robust data collection and research, alongside policy support, was emphasised as essential to achieving this goal.