ALTERNATIVE DIETS

Objective benefits of alternative diets are numerous. Be them intrinsic or direct consequences, alternative diets seem to imply many sustainable qualities that have an impact on alternative diet followers and their social and natural environment.

Among these, health is not the least important. Organic diet have been proven to reduce health hazards caused by the ingestion of pesticide that are commonly found in whole and processed food items such as vegetables. According to CA, the scientific review for cancer clinicians, “literature developed subsequent to publication of the IARC monograph suggests that chemicals in every major functional class of pesticides (ie, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fumigants) are associated with human cancer.” The same article states that among the 25 most used chemicals, at least 10 are proven to cause cancer such as adult leukemia, prostate cancer or blood cancer (NHL). Vegetarian diet highly contribute to the diversification of nutrient sources such as E-vitamin which 30% of the French population lacks, the reduction “in the risk of cancers of the oesophagus, lung, stomach and colorectum with increased consumption of fruit and vegetables. Breast cancer risk was lower with increased consumption of vegetables”. Furthermore, people who follow those diets tend to be more careful to have balanced diets, as a consequence of their voluntary change of diet. The higher consumption of whole food that we assessed in our interviews counteracts the “energy-dense, rich in meats and dairies, saturated fat and sugar and poor in some micronutrients and fibre” diets in favor of more nutrient-full meals. ([1] PADILLA Martine, CAPONE Roberto, PALMA Giulia (2012). Sustainability of the food chain from field top plate: the case of the Mediterranean diet, Sustainable diets and biodiversity: directions and solutions for policy, research and action, p. 230-241)

As a consequence of alternative diet followers’ consuming habits, the whole chain of production and distribution also appears to be more environmentally viable. One of the main outstanding objective benefits of the alternative diets remains that of the crop sustainability and the energy efficiency, which goes hand in hand with the environmental preservation. . “The conventional farming methods rely on extensive use of natural resources”, that is to say “based on high fossil energy and chemical use”[1], and “result in higher levels of food contamination. In contrast, the environmental impact of organic farming is lower. Organic farming practices include controlling pests naturally, rotating crops, and applying legume plants as manure, in contrast to the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in conventional farming”. Another point to be brought up is the impact of the meat industry over environment. “Meat is critical with respect to sustainability because meat products are among the most energy-intensive and ecologically burdensome foods”[2]. On this point, vegetarian diets can be considered as ecofriendly. Indeed, “on average, land requirements for meat-protein production are 10 times greater than for plant-protein production. About 40% of the world’s grain harvest is fed to animals. Half of this grain would be more than enough to feed all hungry people of our planet. Animal manure, which is produced in huge amounts by industrial agriculture, causes high levels of potentially carcinogenic nitrates in drinking water and vegetables. Animal production requires considerable energy and water resources and leads to deforestation, overgrazing, and overfishing”[3]. Last but not least, alternative diets also aim at preserving biodiversity and thus at encouraging the production of a wider range of species. Indeed, another big issue of the current industrial pattern remains the lack of biodiversity: “specifically, it is widely based on a very low diversity of cultivated food crops and cultivars/breeds and an apparent but limited variety of foodstuffs purchased, processed and consumed”[4]. In this way, producing locally could be a relevant response to this phenomenon since it “implies to grow productions in season with minimal inputs to improve sustainability. This would stimulate the search for adapted species and varieties and thus increase cultivated biodiversity. These seasonally produced foods should be better consumed locally”[5]. For instance, the Mediterranean diet is inclined towards the respect of the natural productions of lands but also towards its seasonality, which favors biodiversity, and the nutritive diversity which actually comes with it.