PEOPLE must resort to a planetary health diet or the consumption of more plants and less meat for better human and planetary health.

This was stressed by Dr. Renzo R. Guinto, director of the Planetary and Global Health Program of St. Luke’s Medical Center, in a recent webinar hosted by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in celebration of this year’s nutrition month.

Guinto explained that overconsumption of red meat raises cancer risks, and its production contributes to around 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions.

“The world is consuming high carbon and less nutritious food products like red meat. Our diet should be healthy for both the planet and the people,” Guinto stressed.

He disclosed that the planetary health diet plate includes 50% for leafy vegetables, around 15% for whole grains, around 3% for meat, and starchy vegetables, dairy foods, plant-sourced protein, unsaturated plant oils, and added sugars, sharing the remaining percentage.

“This is the best diet, but we must also consider demographics and identify suitable diets for specific populations,” Guinto added.

Dr. Guinto stressed that the food system, from food production to consumption, affects the health of humans and the planet earth.

He added that the planet’s demise is “inextricably” linked with human health.

“The planet’s health is essential in preventing infectious diseases in humans. As people destroy ecosystems through land use change, wildlife trade, and the use of animals increases the chance of another virus jumping from an animal to a human being,” he said.

Also, during the webinar, Guinto recommended that the agriculture and forestry sectors focus on improving yields, increasing productivity, cutting food wastes, and producing healthy calories to solve the issues on the food system from a planetary perspective.

“We need action in all sectors to develop best farming practices with low emission intensity and promote a plant-based diet to reduce meat consumption. We should also adopt climate-resilient agricultural practices. We should help our fisherfolk in providing solutions for the ocean acidification and warming, as these don’t only affect their income but also their health since they rely on the ocean greatly for the source of protein (i.e., sea foods) in their diet,” he said.

Guinto further explained that promotion of local production and improvement in delivery systems are also crucial to balance nutrition and health amid climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, wars, and other crises.

“We must have an efficient delivery system to organize the distribution of our local products – good governance is central to this,” he said.

He likewise emphasized the need to shift from the “ego-logical” to the “eco-logical” approach.

“We always think we are on the top of nature’s pyramid. We consume, kill, produce, mine, and extract. We need to shift to a true “eco-logical” approach where people live in harmony, solidarity, and greater interdependence with planet earth and creatures great and small,” he concluded.