Eating well is important for both ourselves and the planet. This is the extreme summary of a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, sponsored by the University of Oxford.
According to the researchers, on the one hand, the food system is responsible for more than a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions; on the other, an unhealthy diet is among the leading causes of death.
How Technology Impacts the Meat industry?
Did you ever ask yourself; how does overconsumption affect the environment? Overconsumption worsens climate disruption and increases air pollution, and it greatly harms the environment by depleting its life-support systems of flora and fauna, thus leaving us short of materials that are fundamental to our health and quality of life. How do we prevent this? The answer lies in eating fewer foods of animal origin. In short, make room for fruits and vegetables!
However, if you like meat too much and can’t do without it, lab-grown meat is another great option for saving the planet and taking care of your health at the same time. Technological advancement is probably the only way for us to save the planet before it is too late, says the Canadian journalist Gwynne Dyer, a columnist for several major international newspapers.
The issue, according to Dyer, is both simple and very complex: it is well understood that our planet has been suffering for decades now from the way we eat meat and animal products and that we need to reverse course as soon as possible. It is equally clear that this cannot happen in time. Although it would be the simplest and most immediate solution, according to the journalist, it is unthinkable (or even likely!) that the entire world population will adopt a vegan or even just a flexitarian diet, and that is why we should start eating lab-made meat.
In any case, although a lot of progress has been made since the first synthetic burger created in 2013 by university professor Mark Post at a cost of more than 20,000 euros, we are still dealing with a product that is not competitive with animal meat; despite this, more and more companies are turning to lab-created meat as a solution to the serious global food problem. These include, for example, the U.S. company Memphis Meats, but also Impossible Foods, which has created the first plant-based hamburger “that tastes like meat” thanks to the Eme plant.
How can we take care of our hearts by eating more vegetables?
How does meat consumption affect heart and artery health? Two recent publications led to the same conclusion as the research reported above: limiting steak and cured meats at the table helps keep cardiovascular disease at bay and, therefore, reduces mortality.
Many factors remain unclear and there are certainly methodological limitations (e.g., the research in question does not consider key variables such as cooking patterns), but the message is important in terms of public health, since these are everyday, widespread and, above all, modifiable behaviors.
The Gut Bacterial Flora Study
A very recent paper circulated by the American College of Cardiology also shows that a predominantly vegetarian diet has beneficial effects on the gut microbiome, the set of bacteria that populate our digestive tract and whose composition, in turn, impacts several aspects of our health, from metabolism to immune defenses. In particular, the researchers focused on a metabolite in the intestinal flora called TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide), which is already known to be linked to the risk of cardiovascular disease. They examined a group of more than 700 women, comparing various information on lifestyle habits, coronary heart disease and stroke, and plasma levels of TMAO over a decade.
It turns out that women who are more prone to cardiovascular damage have higher levels of TMAO, as well as a higher body weight index. But they also have the habit of eating few fruits and vegetables and many animal products. Among the women considered, higher levels of TMAO were associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease by as much as 67 percent. The merit of this work is to have tracked diet-determined changes over time and shown that reducing animal foods is one way to reduce heart risks, and that monitoring TMAO levels could become a method to help with prevention.
A second research study, including over thirty thousand American adults, confirms that the consumption of processed meats (sausages, salted, smoked or dried meats) and red meat negatively affects people’s health. In the study, those who consumed more meat were found to have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease of between 3 and 7 percent. This was a slight increase but considered significant by the researchers given the extent of consumption of these products. No link, however, was found between heart disease and fish consumption, so fish can stay on the menu.
Conclusion: So why is it better to eat less meat?
So, is meat on the table incompatible with good health? Not necessarily. The guidelines of nutrition experts suggest moderating meat consumption (100 grams, for an adult, no more than 3 or 4 times a week, favoring white meats and light cooking) and especially never neglecting the number of vegetables in the daily diet. In today’s world, where unfortunately a large part of the world’s population does not act in the best interest of the planet, it is very important to inform ourselves on the best dietary behaviors to undertake, always keeping in mind environmental sustainability, as well as medical benefits.