#Flexitarian diet

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Grist:

A new report finds that the United States could more efficiently produce food if half the country’s protein supply came from plant-based or alternative proteins rather than meat or dairy. 

The analysis demonstrates how a shift toward a plant-based diet provides ample benefits for the environment and the climate. In its latest report, the Good Food Institute, or GFI — a nonprofit think tank that supports the growth of alternative proteins — calculates that if Americans replaced 50 percent of their animal protein consumption with plant-based options, then 47.3 million fewer acres of cropland would be needed to grow the same amount of protein.

That land, which altogether makes up an area roughly the size of South Dakota, represents tremendous opportunities for carbon sequestration and biodiversity, according to GFI. The organization argues that if those acres weren’t used to grow crops, they could instead be transformed into carbon sinks or used to restore threatened ecosystems. That would deliver climate benefits on top of the reduction of animal agriculture’s more direct emissions sources: manure and cow burps.

The U.S. currently devotes a tremendous amount of land to agriculture: Over 60 percent of land in the contiguous U.S. is used for agriculture, and 21 percent of that is cropland. A majority of the nation’s cropland — 78 percent — is used to raise crops that are primarily used to feed animals. 

The shift toward increased alternative protein production detailed in the GFI report would not require growing more plants. Instead, the U.S. could meet its current protein demand by growing fewer crops overall, and ensuring that more of the commodity crops we already produce — such as soy, grain, corn, barley, oats, and sorghum — are grown for human consumption.

“I think a lot of people, when they hear about plant-based diets, they’re like, ‘That’s going to take so much soy,’” said Priera Panescu Scott, GFI’s lead plant-based scientist, whose background is in material and agricultural science. But Panescu Scott, who co-authored the report, points out that soy is mostly grown to feed livestock, not humans. Worldwide, a majority of soy is used for animal feed, while only 7 percent winds up becoming tofu, tempeh, soy milk, or other foods. 

[vitality-voyage1]

Is your current diet failing you? 😔 Learn why the Mediterranean Diet is different. 😉

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[maisha-online]

Eating for the Win: The Best Diets for Serious Runners

Eating for the Win: The Best Diets for Serious Runners #Fitness #Runners #Diet #Marathon #RunnersDiet #IntermittentFasting #KetoDiet #flexitariandiet #glutenfree #paleodiet #DASHDiet #PlantBasedDiet #Nutrition #MacroNutrients #MicroNutrients

As a runner, you know that proper nutrition plays a crucial role in your performance, energy levels, and overall health. But with so many diets out there, it can be overwhelming to determine which one is best for you. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the top 10 diets for runners, providing you with all the information you need to make an informed decision about your dietary…

[hopkinrx]

Vegetarian Diet: A Nutrient-Rich Path to a Healthier Lifestyle

Vegetarian Diet: A Nutrient-Rich Path to a Healthier LifestyleIntroductionTypes of Vegetarian Diets Lacto-ovo vegetarian Vegan Pescatarian FlexitarianNutritional Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet Abundance of Vitamins and Minerals High Fiber Content Healthy Fats and ProteinsImproved Weight Management with Vegetarianism Plant-Based Foods and Weight Loss Balanced Calorie Intake and Portion…

[shortfeedshq]

Transform Your Heart Health with These Top-Ranked Diets

The American Heart Association (AHA) has released its annual list of the best diets for heart health, and the Mediterranean Diet has taken the top spot for the fourth year in a row. The diet, which emphasizes whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats, has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other chronic illnesses. The AHA…

[lilleluv]

The 9 Best Diet Plans for Your Overall Health

Eating a healthy and balanced diet is essential for maintaining good overall health. There are many different diet plans out there, each with their own unique set of benefits and drawbacks. Here, we will take a look at 9 of the best diet plans for your overall health. 1. Mediterranean Diet: This diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats, such as olive oil. It also…

[hannahhickok2007]

Try something new

You should try being a flexitarian Because it’s better for the environment as you don’t know Flexitarianism or flexitarism is a semi-vegetarian diet in which people do not eat meat one or more days a week. A semi-vegetarian diet, also called a flexitarian, is one that is centered on plant foods with the occasional inclusion of meat.

[sonshinegreene]

Switching To A Plant Based Diet Day 10

No, you didn’t miss any posts. I have been focusing on getting my videos up on TikTok and YouTube, and I haven’t posted them here. I think I am only going to post the videos here when I have something to add to the message of the video. Today is a perfect example. I wanted to explain some of the vegetables I am enjoying and why I chose to eat them. The first vegetable I’m going to talk about is…

[fitnessratsuniverse]

FLEXITARIAN DIET PROS AND CONS FOR FITNESS ENTHUSIASTS

In this article, we’ll explore the Flexitarian Diet pros and cons, helping you understand how this flexible eating plan can fit into your fitness journey.

In the realm of modern fitness trends, the flexitarian diet has emerged as a popular choice for individuals seeking a balanced approach to nutrition. Unlike strict vegetarian or vegan diets, the flexitarian diet offers flexibility by primarily focusing on plant-based foods while occasionally incorporating meat and other animal products. This dietary approach is not just a temporary fad but rather a sustainable lifestyle choice embraced by many fitness enthusiasts and health-conscious individuals alike.

[slimmingstrategies]

Mastering Weight Loss Without Sacrificing Productivity: 10 Practical Tips for Busy Professionals

Read it: 

[reasonsforhope]

"A global shift to a mostly plant-based “flexitarian” diet could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help restrict global heating to 1.5C, a new study shows.

Previous research has warned how emissions from food alone at current rates will propel the world past this key international target.

But the new research, published in the Science Advances journal, shows how that could be prevented by widespread adoption of a flexitarian diet based around reducing meat consumption and adding more plant-based food.

“A shift toward healthy diets would not only benefit the people, the land and food systems,” said Florian Humpenöder, a study author and senior scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, “but also would have an impact on the total economy in terms of how fast emissions need to be reduced.” ...

The researchers found that adopting a flexitarian diet could lower methane and nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture and lower the impacts of food production on water, nitrogen and biodiversity. This in turn could reduce the economic costs related to human health and ecosystem degradation and cut GHG emissions pricing, or what it costs to mitigate carbon, by 43% in 2050.

The dietary shift models also show limiting peak warming to about 1.5C can be achieved by 2045 with less carbon dioxide removal, compared with if we maintain our current diets.

“It’s important to stress that flexitarian is not vegetarian and not vegan,” Humpenöder says. “It’s less livestock products, especially in high-income regions, and the diet is based on what would be the best diet for human health.”

In the US, agriculture accounts for more than 10% of total GHG emissions. Most of it comes from livestock. Reducing meat consumption can free up agricultural land used for livestock production, which in turn can lower methane emissions. A potent greenhouse gas, methane is mainly expelled from cows and other animals raised for livestock. Animal production is the primary contributor to air quality-related health impacts from US food systems.

“This paper further confirms what other studies have shown, which is that if we change our diets to a more flexitarian type, we can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Jason Hill, a professor in the University of Minnesota’s department of bioproducts and biosystems engineering.

According to the study authors, one way to achieve a shift toward healthier diets is through price-based incentives, such as putting taxes on the highest-emitting animal products, including beef and lamb. Another option is informing consumers about environmental consequences of high meat consumption."

-via The Guardian, March 27, 2024

[vitality-voyage1]

Ready to transform your body and mind? 💪😎 See how intermittent fasting can help. 🔥

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[sidewalkchemistry]

‘When scientists like me advocate for healthy and environmentally-friendly eating, it’s often said we’re sitting in our ivory towers promoting something financially out of reach for most people. This study shows it’s quite the opposite. These diets could be better for your bank balance as well as for your health and...the planet.’

Oxford University research has today revealed that, in countries such as the US, the UK, Australia and across Western Europe, adopting a vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian diet could slash your food bill by up to one-third.

🌱 🌼 ✨ 🌱 🌼 ✨ 🌱 🌼 ✨

It found that in high-income countries:

Vegan diets were the most affordable and reduced food costs by up to one third.

Vegetarian diets were a close second.

Flexitarian diets with low amounts of meat and dairy reduced costs by 14%.

By contrast, pescatarian diets increased costs by up to 2%.

[agro-carnist]

ok. References: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/23/5115

https://www.pcrm.org/news/health-nutrition/vegan-diet-better-environment-mediterranean-diet

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/20/vegan-diet-cuts-environmental-damage-climate-heating-emissions-study

https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/shopping-guide/vegan-meat-alterantive-food-brands

Including books like Sustainable Living and 100 Ways to Live Sustainably.

My response under a read more since it got long

First link:

This study is not necessarily advocating for vegan or vegetarian diets, and it mentions that in the introduction. It mentions instead its evaluation of overconsumption of animal products and underconsumption of various plant sources.

The study also mentions that vegans and vegetarians tend to consume more fruits, vegetables, and legumes and in more variety, as well as fewer refined cereals, added fats and sweets, and non-water beverages. This is known as the healthy user bias. The study even mentions that "the differences in terms of health outcomes ... cannot be directly linked only to the different consumption of protein sources." Even their own analysis of various studies find that most results aren't statistically significant, and those that do have significant statistical correlation include flexitarians, pescetarians, and lacto-ovo vegetarians and exclude vegans.

Second link

This article references two different studies, "Environmental Impact of Two Plant-Based, Isocaloric and Isoproteic Diets: The Vegan Diet vs. the Mediterranean Diet" and "A Mediterranean Diet and Low-Fat Vegan Diet to Improve Body Weight and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: A Randomized, Cross-over Trial."

For the first, this goes into one of my main complaints about dietary sustainability analysis in that the calculations are all hypothetical. It does not study if an individual's personal food choices make an impact on foods being produced. I am not arguing that livestock do not have a significant environmental impact or that agriculture does not damage the Earth. They clearly do. But I'm not a libertarian that thinks the free market will solve the ingrained issues with how food is produced.

My other issue with studies like this is that it groups all livestock together and all crops together. Cattle, chickens, fish, shellfish, goats, etc. all have a very different environmental impact. Almonds, wheat, apples, avocados, beans, rice etc. also all have very different environmental impacts. Painting agriculture with broad brushes like this is, in my opinion, not very helpful. I'm also not interested in pointing out the harmful impact of one side of agriculture while completely supporting the other side and acting like we can ignore that. I am more interested in food raised using sustainable techniques vs. industrially grown food rather than pitting animals and plants against each other as a whole. I am anti-capitalist and I do not make my food and animal activism to still be playing into capitalism. I also dislike pretending that crops and livestock are mutually exclusive industries that do not fundamentally play into each other.

As for the second study, I find this one far more interesting but I do have a few things to point out. The study does not mention what the lifestyles of the participants were before the study began, only that they were overweight. It seems to be operating under the assumption that thinner automatically means healthier, which isn't necessarily the case. But are participants normally eating tons of junk food with little fresh fruits and vegetables and then switching to more balanced diets prepared at home? Considering participants are also specifically asked to avoid sweetened drinks, processed meats and snacks, and cream and to limit cured ham and fatty cheeses, there are almost definitely other factors at play than simply meat vs plants. Second, participants attended classes taught by dieticians and physicians. Of course people would be healthier following instructions by people formally educated in health. Third, it is noted that several participants out of 52 change medications during the study, which can impact results.

Third link

See my points from link 2.

Fourth link

I like the recommendations made for vegan companies here. They suggest making some foods at home and avoiding companies that use palm oil or soy from South America as well as brands like Nestle that are famously known for damaging environments all over the world and harming people especially in poor countries. I will add though that this is harder than it looks due to brands having parents companies and Nestle owns lots and lots of companies. Which also plays into my point that personal choice is so insignificant when up against monsters like Nestle that own so much power.

In short, studies like these can provide some helpful data but they do also miss many important pieces because sustainability and nutrition are such complex topics that do not come with easy answers. I also take all studies with a grain of salt because they are all going to still work under the assumption of a capitalist world. My perspective is anti-capitalist and about an uprooting of our relationship to food and agriculture. Under a capitalist system the best we can do is harm reduction and based on trends of the food market I do not see that vegan diets make a material difference. Rather I promote choices that uplift community food, pressure changes to industry norms including legislative pressure, and socialist activism that benefits people and in turn the animals we live next to. Overproduction and overconsumption are real issues.

I'd like to offer my own studies and references but looking through these has used up all my spoons. My recommendations on books though are Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Cows Save The Planet by Judith D. Schwartz.

[alarrytale]

Hi! Did you see Harry signed a plate for an Italian restaurant saying that they have the best chicken in the whole Italy.

Do you think he changed his diet and is not a pescatarian any more? I remember in the vogue articles from 2020 he said he has been pescatarian for 3 years, but it was released also just before holivia started and she is the one who is pescatarian, do you think it’s possible that they tried to connect them with having the same interests and habits?

Or he just started randomly eating chicken after 7 years?

Hi, anon!

I've talked about this before, but i think that Harry was never really a pescatarian/vegetarian/vegan. I think he's a flexitarian. I think his diet and work out regime was very different when he was touring and acting. He practiced clean living, diciplined work outs, 10 hours of sleep, and probably avoided processed food, alcohol and stuck to fish for meat, because it's leaner and healthier. When he was done touring he went back to eating whatever, drinking and cut down on his work outs.

He probably dreamt of having a juicy five guys burger, Louis' chicken wrapped in parma ham and mozzarella with a side of homemade mash, or his mothers sunday roast while he was eating broccoli and running up and down the stadium stairs while touring.

Harry eats meat and some people in this fandom refuse to see it despite everything pointing to it. It really is fascinating.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Chicken sales have benefited from the relentless propaganda war against red meat, as a result of which, some consumers have been persuaded on the basis of selective and misrepresented data, that chicken is a better choice for planetary, animal and personal health. “I don’t eat red meat, but I do eat chicken sometimes.” How often have you heard that said? Superficially, that stance might seem enlightened, but the reality is that in this country, UK or EU reared red meat from truly sustainable, pasture-based systems will almost always be a more genuinely progressive choice than chicken. UK-reared beef, lamb, goat and venison is produced more extensively than chicken (and pork, for that matter). Sheep, cattle and other ruminants are rarely raised exclusively indoors in Britain. Farmed deer are still in the field for the best part of their lives. These animals live on a diet of mainly pasture and forage, making use of land that is often unsuitable for growing other crops. They can flourish eating grass, herbs and shrubs, effectively transforming sunlight, rainwater and soil nutrients into some of the most nutrient rich foods available to us. While many UK-reared cattle are now finished on a diet that includes some cereals, they typically spend the greater part of their lives grazing outside, and for people seeking the most sustainable meat option, produce from 100% grass-fed animals is available. The more cereals that are fed to an animal, the less resource efficient its milk or meat is. This is because productive arable farmland, that could be used for growing food to be fed directly to people, is used for growing lower grade livestock cereals, from which only 17-30% of calories are returned for human consumption as meat or milk. Alternatively, the cereals used for animal feed may be grown in other regions of the world and shipped vast distances – which brings us back to chicken. We eat a billion chickens each year in these isles, and they do not lead remotely content or natural lives. Almost all (95%) are from fast-growing breeds, intensively reared in vast, tightly packed, indoor facilities and they are slaughtered at as little as 28 days. While chickens are a relatively small bird, their environmental footprint is significant. The Soil Association’s report, Peak Poultry, details that roughly three million tonnes of soya are imported into the UK each year, and most of it is bought by chicken producers to fatten chickens. Typically, this soya comes from Latin America, a crop that contributes to deforestation and pesticide use in biologically important areas, such as the Amazon and Cerrado. There are at least 1,000 intensive poultry units throughout the UK. This marks an increase of more than 30% in the past decade as chicken has been marketed as a more compassionate, healthy and ecological alternative to red meat. Given the complexity of the debate, it’s no wonder that so many of us accept that chicken is a more ethical choice. Put chicken on the menu, whether that’s in school dinner halls or restaurants, and you are likely to invite fewer religious objections, while ‘flexitarians’, and those who describe themselves as ‘plant-based’ eaters will view it as ‘the least bad’ of the possible meat options.