Biodiversity and Sustainable Diet symposium agrees draft outputs

A proposed definition of Sustainable Diets, recommendations for action and an outline Code of Conduct emerged at the final session of the symposium on Biodiversity and Sustainable Diets in Rome. All are intended to promote the use biodiversity and food-based systems to improve human nutrition, particularly in poor rural areas, and hope also to accelerate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

At the opening session of the symposium Emile Frison, Director General of Bioversity International, had set the tone when he said that overcoming hunger and malnutrition needed a holistic approach. Frison called for "different sectors from agriculture to health to come together to set up comprehensive policies."

Frison emphasized that the time is ripe for cross-cutting initiatives involving nutrition, agriculture and health, which up until now have lacked clear coordinated efforts to combat malnutrition. Many presentations at the symposium echoed this message, calling for a shift in focus from quantity to quality of food intake. There was also considerable discussion on the balance between conservation and use of biodiversity as a means to deliver better nutrition to local communities.

"We must clarify the role of biodiversity," said Timothy Lang from the Centre for Food Policy at City University in London. "Do we eat it? Do we preserve it? Or do we eat it to preserve it?"

The draft outcomes of the symposium still need to be formally agreed. The current version of the definition states that sustainable diets are:

Those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to a healthy life for present and future generations. Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable; nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy while optimizing natural human resources.

The symposium also adopted a list of six recommendations for action to promote and conserve biodiversity to attain sustainable diets in order to achieve healthy lives now and in the future. In essence the recommendations cover:

• The establishment of an international taskforce to promote the concept of sustainable diets.
• Increased support for research and development projects on biodiversity and sustainable diets.
• Greater emphasis on nutrition by policy-makers and plant and animal breeders
• Encouragement for projects and case studies that could demonstrate synergies among biodiversity, nutrition, socio-economic and cultural benefits and environmental sustainability.
• Greater attention to sustainability in dietary guidelines and policies aimed at healthy nutrition.
• Collaboration at the global level among all sectors to develop policies and plan activities that promote sustainable diets, adhering to the proposed Code of Conduct.

The Code of Conduct considered by the symposium is modeled on the The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. It provides a framework for action that strikes a balance between the use and marketing of a food-based approach that includes using local biodiversity, and the use of supplements, fortified foods and ready-to-use therapeutic foods in emergency situations.

Throughout the symposium, participants emphasized the vital linkages between the health of humans and the health of ecosystems, as well as the need, when appropriate, to promote ecosystems as a way to support sustainable diets through nutrition programs, education and outreach, and policies and interventions.

"We must address the root causes of hunger and poor nutrition through food-system approaches," said Jessica Fanzo, Senior Scientist at Bioversity International. "Integrated policies and practices from different sectors, such as health and agriculture for example, hold promise for sustainable efforts in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and beyond."

For further information contact  Bruce Cogill (Programme Leader, Nutrition and Marketing Diversity) or  Jeremy Cherfas (Senior Science Writer).