If everyone in the world replicated Ireland's eating habits, we would need five planets to cope with the pressure it would put on the environment, according to Oxford University academic Marco Springmann.
r Springmann says research shows there is no country in the world with an ideal diet balancing health needs with environmental sustainability. However, Irish diets compare poorly with eating habits abroad.
On a per capita basis, if every country in the world followed Ireland's daily recommended food guidelines, we would need two planets just to cope with the greenhouse gas emissions produced.
"But people don't really eat according to guidelines," Dr Springmann says of the research, published in the British Medical Journal.
"It found if everyone ate as the Irish are recommended to do, we would need two Earths to balance the greenhouse gas emissions, because the dairy recommendations are higher than what is sustainable. The Irish diet is heavily centred around red meat and dairy, and these either create high emissions, are unhealthy or both."
We eat more than the recommended guidelines so we need not two but five extra planets. As well as environmental impacts, there are health consequences of the diet.
Dr Springmann, who will feature on an expert panel in RT's What Planet Are You On?, says meat is a proven carcinogenic while the benefits of dairy can also be questioned.
Last year, the Irish Farmers' Association questioned his credentials after the academic played down dairy's health benefits. But Dr Springmann says research and his credentials speak for themselves.
"For the past seven years now, I have done research and modelling work that brings together health, nutrition, environmental and economic aspects."
He says farmers need to adapt and must be incentivised to do so.
He also said countries can do better to provide people with dietary advice.
"Whatever national policy is adopted needs to be incorporated with agriculture. Here, it is important to take the agriculture sector by the hand and guide them, but what we tend to see is a great outcry if anybody calls for a cut-down on meat and dairy consumption. But if we don't do it, especially in high-income countries like Ireland, there is no way of limiting climate change."
What Planet Are You On? airs tonight on RT One at 6.30pm.
Sunday Independent
Read more:
The Irish diet isn't just bad for your health, it harms the environment too - Independent.ie
