The World Food Organization stresses that the nutrients in foods derived from animal husbandry “are difficult to obtain in the context of a vegan diet”
Meat, eggs and dairy products are “essential sources of nutrients” for the world’s population, especially during childhood and pregnancy, the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) notes in a report released today.
The UN agency is encouraging governments to “promote the benefits of foods derived from land-based animal husbandry”, which provide nutrients “difficult to obtain in a plant-based diet”.
These FAO conclusions come from a report compiled after gathering more than 500 scientific articles and presented as “the most comprehensive analysis to date” of the benefits, but also the risks, associated with animal products.
“Foods derived from animal husbandry on land provide proteins high quality, a number of basic fatty acids, iron, calcium, zinc, selenium, vitamin B12 (…) that ensure essential functions for health and development,” according to the organization.
“This is especially true in certain important periods of life, such as pregnancy, breastfeeding, childhood, adolescence and old age“, adds the FAO, which does not include seafood in its report.
Eating these foods can reduce stunting and wasting (or malnutrition) in children under five, combat the birth of underweight babies and prevent anemia in women of childbearing age.
Iron, vitamin A and zinc deficiencies are among “the most prevalent in the world”. More than one child in two, aged roughly between 3 and 6 years, suffers from at least one of these deficiencies, mainly in South Asia, East Asia, the Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa.
However, the livestock sector will have to face “certain challenges”, primarily environmental, underline FAO’s second in command Maria Elena Semedo and its chief economist Maximo Torrero Cullen.
In addition to deforestation and unsustainable water use, the sector is responsible for 14.5% of man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
The organization also reminds that “consumption, even low, of processed red meat can increase the risk of mortality and chronic diseases, mainly cardiovascular disease and colon cancer”.
Three billion people do not have access to a healthy diet, yet one in three is overweight or obese, according to the FAO.
Source :Skai
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