Greenhouse gas emissions associated with national dietary guidelines advocating a healthy diet vary greatly between countries, with US guidelines having the largest carbon footprint and India having the smallest, according to a study involving seven countries published in the open access Nutrition Journal. The variations result from differences in recommendations for and consumptions of individual foods within the six main food groups — protein foods, dairy, grains, fruits, vegetables, and oils/fats.
Diego Rose, the corresponding author said: “Many countries provide recommendations about foods that people should eat for a healthy diet and previous simulations have shown that if the public were to eat according to their government’s recommendations, their diets would be both healthier and have a lower carbon footprint. However, for the US the opposite has been shown; greenhouse gas…
