Contemporary Diets: Between
Sustainability & Wastefulness
Christina Wenzl, Humanities/JACSVocabulary

Diet

Sustainability

Environment

Vegetarianism

Carbon Emissions

Urban Areas

Organic Farming

Composting

Landﬁlls

Consumer Choice

WasteLabelling2Introduction◉ Do you think about what you eat?
◉ What do you know about sustainability?
◉ Do you agree with the fact that we need toprotect the environment?

3https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20181002-meat-bad-or-good/ / Kurzgesagt

4Introduction◉ My belief: urban citizens of developed
countries need to be more sustainable◉ Urban areas:○ biggest energy demand + carbon emissions○ climate change poses big risk

◉ We need to talk about sustainable diets5

Today’s Goal

Diet/FoodSustainabilityEnvironment6

Today’s Goal

Diet/Food7

Diet◉ Diet often mistaken as weight loss
◉ Primary: Consumption of food and beverage◉ Secondary: restricted consumption○ For weight loss
○ But also: Vegetarian, Keto, Halal, ...
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Today’s Goal

Sustainability

9Sustainability◉ Deﬁnition often unclear◉ Most often: Environmental sustainability○ Not enough for successful sustainability◉ People, Proﬁt, Planet10

Sustainability
SocialEconomic

Environmental

Sustainability needs
to contribute tosociety.

Sustainability needs
to be proﬁtable.

Sustainability needs
to consider thelimited resources.

Happiness/People

Well-Being/Proﬁt

Welfare/Planet

PresentFuture11

Today’s Goal

Environment

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Environment◉ Air, water, and land in or on which people,animals, and plants live
◉ Environment as limited resources◉ Environmental destruction○ Take more than can be restored13

Today’s Goal

Diet/Food

Sustainability

Environment

How do you think these three topics are connected?
14Sustainable diet

◉ Social Sustainability○ Is it accessible?

◉ Economic Sustainability○ Is it affordable?

◉ Environmental Sustainability○ Is it resourceful?
15How can we achieve this goal?

◉ Education○ Diets, Sustainability & Environment◉ Consumer Choice○ Purchase, Usage and Waste◉ Policies & Labelling○ Food Prices/Taxing, Labelling of Food
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Education
What do we know about sustainable diets?

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Your Diet

◉ Impacts the world○ Both the environment and people◉ Usage of resources○ Energy, water, land, ...

◉ Emissions (25% of all emissions!)○ GHG (Greenhouse Gases) like CO218

https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20181002-meat-bad-or-good/ / Kurzgesagt

19https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20181002-meat-bad-or-good/ / Kurzgesagt

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Meat

◉ High environmental impact◉ 14.5 % of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG)○ Food in total: 25% of GHGs

◉ Health risks◉ But: Cultural and symbolic meaning○ Need for alternatives
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Meat-free diets◉ Less water, energy, fertilizer and pesticideconsumption & emissions◉ Health-beneﬁts◉ Economically & environmentally sustainable◉ Not (yet) socially sustainable22

Organic Food

◉ Umbrella label - no one deﬁnition◉ Associated with sustainability○ But: only sustainable in (certain) plant foods○ Meat still unsustainable◉ Overall: Organic farming not very different
from conventional farming23https://prtimes.jp/story/detail/3b7D41iJ3Bw

https://www.ichibanya.co.jp/menu/detail.html?id=731 https://www.mos.jp/cp/greenburger/

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Summary Question
If you have the choice between anormal burger and a soy burger, whatchoice is more sustainable?
25Summary Question
What makes diets so important forsustainability?

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To summarize:◉

Your diet impacts the world◉ Meat is unsustainable◉ There are meat alternatives
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Opinion Question
Could you imagine a world without
eating meat?

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Consumer Choice
What can you do?

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Consumer = Actor◉ Your purchase impacts the food chain○ = Consumer food choice◉ Making informed choices○ Choose sustainable options○ Shop locally and seasonally30

Waste: Consumer-End Waste◉ Food Waste = wasted resources○ Could feed approx. 2 billion people a year
○ US: 20% of food wasted a year

◉ Avoid over-purchasing/Letting food perish◉ The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle◉ Composting31

Waste: Single-Use Items◉ 300 mil. t/a of plastic produced○ By 2015: 5000 mil. t plastic in landﬁlls○ 4.8-12.7 mil. t of plastic in ocean◉ Alternatives: seen as solution○ BUT: not better, maybe even worse◉ Avoid single-use items!
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Summary Question
If you buy food and drinks outside,
what could you do to avoid single-useitems?
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Summary Question
How can you contribute tosustainability?

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To summarize:◉ Your purchase matters◉ Avoid wasting food
◉ Avoid single-use items
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Opinion Question
Now that plastic bags are not freeanymore: Do you bring your own bags
for shopping?
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Policies & Labeling
What needs to be done?

37Policy-Making◉ Need to inform and educate citizens◉ Inﬂuence food prices/availability○ Health: fat, sugar, salt > higher prices○ Sustainability: similar approach needed◉ Make sustainable diets possible38https://www.commonmarket.coop/sustainability/understanding-ecolabels/

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Labelling◉ Too many, not clear◉ Consumer create ‘fantasy’ around labels○ Leads to disappointment◉ Time-pressed shopping◉ Need for noticeable, readable andunderstandable labels40https://eaternity.org

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Summary Question
When buying a product, what can you
do to be more informed about it?

42Summary Question
What needs to happen to makesustainable choices easier?

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To summarize:◉ Need for improved policies◉ Need for proper labelling◉ Be aware of what you buy
44Opinion Question
After all this information: Are you moreinterested in the food you eat (and howsustainable it is)?
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Today’s Goal: Summary

Diet/Food=Impactspresent

Sustainability=SocialEconomic
Environmental

Environment=Impacts
future46

Final Questions● What is most important to you
when eating a dish? (Taste,Sustainability, Appearance, Health, …)● What of those things could you
sacriﬁce for a sustainable world?
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Thank you!
Any questions ?
You can also email me @:◉wenzl.christina@a.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp

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