'Planetary health diet': Britons urged to cut meat intake to equivalent of one beefburger a fortnight
Britons have been told to restrict their meat intake to the equivalent of one beefburger a fortnight by health experts in new dietary recommendations branded "fanatical" by critics.
The Eat-Lancet Commission, a group of 37 health experts, has spent two years compiling the "planetary health diet", which they claim is the healthiest and most sustainable food plan for everyone in the world.
They say it could cut premature deaths globally by 11 million and help feed the growing worldwide population which is due to reach 10 billion by 2050.
However to comply with the new diet, the average Briton would need to slash their red meat consumption by 77 per cent - from 62g to 14g for pork and beef - allowing them to have a 8oz steak just once a month or alternatively enjoy a single slice of bacon once every four days.
Currently the NHS recommends Britons should eat no more than 70g per day of any meat, but the new plan cuts that to 43g. The report also limits dairy to 250g a day, about one cup of milk, three-and-a-half fish fingers a week, and just three eggs a fortnight.
The commission said red meat should be seen as "a treat", similar to lobster but the plan is so strict that two out of three commission members introducing the diet at a briefing in London on Wednesday said they were not currently sticking to it.
Dr Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief at The Lancet, said: “I’m close, but I have two eggs for breakfast every morning, so I’m already having too many eggs.”
Author Dr Line Gordon, director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, also admitted: “I am moving towards it, but I have young kids at home, which is driving me in the wrong direction.”
The plan also calls for unhealthy food to be removed from shops or heavily taxed to force people into choosing healthier options.
But critics said it eliminated personal choice and failed to look at alternative options for feeding the world, such as the development of genetically modified crops.
Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “Their desire to limit people to eating one tenth of a sausage a day leaves us in no doubt that we are dealing with fanatics.
“They are making no secret of their desire to tax and ban their way towards a near-vegan diet for the world’s population.
“The potent combination of nanny state campaigners, militant vegetarians and environmental activists poses a real and present danger to a free society. They say they want to save the planet but it is not clear which planet are they on.”
The Commission said current diets needed to "radically" change towards plant-based foods, with low amounts of animal-based foods, refined grains, highly processed foods, and added sugars, and with unsaturated rather than saturated fats.
Moving to the new dietary pattern would require global consumption of foods such as red meat and sugar to decrease by about 50 per cent, while consumption of nuts, fruits, vegetables, and legumes must double, the report said.
The commission said "unprecedented global collaboration and commitment" was needed to push the plan forward, involving immediate changes to agriculture away from cattle farming and starchy crops towards nutrient-rich varieties.
“We need a significant overhaul, changing the global food system on a scale not seen before in ways appropriate to each country’s circumstances,” said one of the commission authors Professor Tim Lang, City, University of London.
However, some experts warned that removing so much protein from diets could have an impact on health, particularly for the elderly.
“Human beings, especially as we age, cannot do without protein,” said Professor Stuart Phillips, the Director of the McMaster Centre for Nutrition, Exercise, and Health Research at McMaster University, Canada.
“The EAT-Lancet Commission's recommendation to cut beef consumption to just a quarter ounce per day (7g) is a drastic departure from evidence showing meat and dairy improve diets.”
