Consumption of plant-based whole-food diets is associated with benefits for health, climate and nature. UK citizens eat four times as much meat as recommended by EAT-Lancet. Adopting a fully plant-based diet has the greatest environmental benefit, regardless of where and how the food is produced. Even if everyone goes meat-free for just two days a week it would result in a 30% reduction in meat consumption. This could offset almost the entire global aviation emission, free up a carbon sink as big as India and save water that could fill 7.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools in a year. In addition, there are significant health benefits at the population level. A modelling study showed that if everyone in England switched to a plant-based diet the monetary savings from improved health and reduction in chronic conditions would result in a saving of £6.7 billion per year which could fund the annual salaries of 60,923 consultant doctors.
A systemic transformation is necessary to reduce the consumption of red meat and dairy while increasing the uptake of fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes and nuts. This transition would drastically reduce land, water usage and GHG emissions and improve air quality, biodiversity and health.
After the recommendations from the independent review of the national food strategy by Henry Dimbleby, the previous UK government published an updated strategy in 2022. However, it fails to make any meaningful change and falls short of outlining a whole systems approach to making food from production to supply to consumption more sustainable, efficient and healthy by transitioning to a predominantly plant-based food system that could reap maximum health and environmental benefits. The UK needs a new food systems framework that prioritises plant-based foods to ensure better health, environment, and economic outcomes in the long term. For example, the Danish government has published the world’s first Danish Action Plan for Plant-Based Food to ensure the provision of healthy and tasty plant-based food for all. In the UK, Edinburgh has become the first city to develop the Plant-Based Treaty Action Plan which aims to help improve access to plant-based foods for residents and visitors. These initiatives are vital as eventually, food demand dictates the supply.
As demand shifts, it is essential to ensure that nutritional needs are met. And for that, policies to mandate consistent fortification of milk alternatives with essential vitamins and minerals to ensure dietary requirements are achieved are necessary as the burden of opting for fortified items currently falls on individuals. Presently, the UK government has no specific guidance for the fortification of plant-based meat alternatives.