ALTERNATIVE DIETS

Given the numerous factor for sustainability and the numerous way there are to follow alternative diets, giving a yes/no answer to our problematic wouldn’t underline the true difficulties there are today to understand the social, economic and environmental viability of human actions. However, our results on production method and alternative diet followers’ consuming behaviors show that the concern for sustainability is omnipresent within the structuring values of these diets. Even though many facts can be held against alternative diets, they give a new perspective on the importance of food, its production and its industrial processing in our developed societies.

 

Among the list of concepts that could translate the alternative diet proposition for a more sustainable way of consuming, two seems to bear an extreme importance: sobriety and time.

 

Sobriety translates in a way of perceiving consumption as being to take what we need, when we need it by respecting a list of economic and hedonistic limits. Its leads to the idea that our society must face the reappearing limits of our planet as far as resources are concerned. Seasonality (respecting the rhythm of production at a local scale), meat consumption reduction (to preserve arable lands and reduce unnecessary calorie consumption), limitation of processed-food consumption (to prevent uniformity and nutrient that are lost during processing) are good examples of how sobriety translates in daily life. It is also a new paradigm for economy. Profit-oriented food industries that implied delocalization (and thus transport), dependence of the producers and dehumanization of the producer to consumer chain (and the food scandal that came with it) are directly questioned by this concept, for the sake of the environment but also for public health and producers’ working conditions reasons.

 

Time is also a leading issue in that regard. Buying from different, more local circuit, cooking on a more regular basis or even getting information on what we, as consumers, buy are social changes that imply more time spent on food, in total opposition with the current social trend. Time is also a concept related to production because it translates in less time spent in transportation, respect of the natural cycle for the sake of the soil to be as productive as they once was. Time is also accepting that food cannot be a contingent part of our daily life as it remains a structuring part of our social and natural environment.

 

This why relevant solutions for truly sustainable diets are to be found beyond the boundaries of vegetarianism, organic or local consumption although these diets can provide society with useful hints on how engaging a change in food consumption toward a more eco-friendly, humane and moderate food chain.