“Eat well, stay well: the Mediterranean way”: in 1975 Ancel Keys (1904-2004), the godfather of Mediterranean Diet describes this lifestyle, from which both humankind and the Planet can benefit. Greenhouse gases emissions of cereals, legumes, fruits, and vegetables, which characterise the Mediterranean Diet, are less than 8% compared with 46% coming from meat and eggs, while – as several studies confirm – has positive impacts on health, nutrition, longevity, and prevention of chronic diseases. We are talking about diet, whose etymology comes from the Greek “diaita”, which means “way of life”, to broaden the topic towards the Mediterranean Foodscape, which involves culture, environment, and health. Food is life, food is energy and nutrition. Food is also an incredibly powerful means to reunite the community, starting from families, their culture, and the territory. That’s why 2020 marks the 10th anniversary of the Mediterranean Diet as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. This stresses the cultural role of food, the identity behind the nexus between food and territory, and represents a clear example of a planet-friendly diet.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS INVOLVED
How can food be a vehicle to protect foodscape?
Malnutrition is the most significant contributor to disease in the world. More than 4 billion people in the world suffer from food-related diseases (hunger or obesity). Mediterranean Diet has positive impacts on health, nutrition, longevity, and prevention of chronic diseases.
How to educate to a more sustainable Diet?
This initiative aims at implementing projects on food education and nutrition as leverage to promote Mediterranean Foodscape and its culture, environment, and health.
Why the Mediterranean Diet is a sustainable diet?
Partnership is necessary to promote the principals of the Mediterranean Diet, as a way to benefit individual health, conviviality, and social cohesion and preservation of natural resources. This initiative is implemented through public and private partnerships.
