from staple foods (Nahar et al. 2013). The consumption of micronutrient-rich foods for adults aged 20 and over such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains remains low compared to recommendations and targets (GNR 2019 and Nahar et al. 2013). Animal source foods are another important source of micronutrients. Consumption of meat, fish and dairy is within recommended intakes and salt, sugar-sweetened beverages, and trans fats is higher than desired for optimal health (GNR 2019). Under the meat category, consumption of bovine meat is the highest, followed by poultry and then goat meat or mutton.

# **4.2 Comparison with nutrient intake recommendations, modeled diets, and trade-offs**

In this analysis, we assessed the diets in Bangladesh in 2000 and 2016 and compared these diets with a modeled scaled up diet to meet the FBDG and the EAT Lancet diet. Between 2000 and 2016, the Bangladeshi diet has overall remained comparable. Notably, the intake of most micronutrients increased, but remains significantly lower than the recommendations. The low intake values for Fe and Zn reflect an assumption of low bioavailability as the current diet is largely plant-based.

The results showed that to meet the recommendations, the level of protein consumption would have to slightly increase, but the minimum requirements for fat and carbohydrate are met and not surprisingly the intake of all micronutrients would also need to increase. Calcium, Vitamin A, Folate and B12 in the actual diet from 2016 are significantly lower than the recommendations. Interestingly in comparison, the EAT-Lancet diet showed a higher share of pulses, dairy and fruit and a lower intake of starchy foods, eggs, and fish, while meat remained unchanged (when compared to the FBDG scaled up diet).

When comparing the environmental cost of the different diets, first a comparison between 2000 and 2016 showed that there has been an increase in the GHGe by 15 percent and this can almost entirely be attributed to increase in the consumption of meat. The FBDG scaled up diet showed a further increase of the GHGe by 10 percent. However, the contribution of the different food groups to the GHGe was different. The overall contribution of milk and milk products was higher, while it was lower for meat, starchy foods, and fish. When the FBDG scale-up and EAT Lancet scale up diets are compared with each other, the contribution to GHGe is significantly higher from dairy and milk products compared to meat.

This case for Bangladesh illustrates that meeting nutritional targets from the current food supply (whether the FBDG or EAT Lancet diet) would require an increase in consumption of foods that have a higher GHG footprint than the current diet. Both modeled diets recommend increasing dairy and milk products, fruits and vegetables and reducing starchy foods. In terms of protein intake, interestingly, the EAT Lancet diet suggests a higher intake of pulses and lower intake of fish and eggs compared not only to the FBDG scaled up diet, but also to the actual diets. Meat intake remains the same across the diets. However, if the ‘meat’ category is further analyzed, among bovine meat, poultry, and goat meat or mutton, the FBDG and EAT Lancet diet both recommend lower bovine meat consumption and comparable levels of poultry consumption to the current diet. The goat meat consumption in the FBDG diet is the same as current levels, but the EAT Lancet diet recommends a lower consumption.

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