Topic 3.2: What is a plant-based diet?
- Plant-based diets are gaining popularity due to a variety of reasons e.g., health, environmental concerns, animal welfare issues, and religious beliefs.
- The global retail sales for plant-based foods (primarily those of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives) are expected to reach 150 billion euros by 2030, up from 27 billion euros in 2020.
What is a ’plant-based’ diet?
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation:
‘‘A plant-based diet, generally, focuses on the primary consumption of foods derived from plants (fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains). It can also include small amounts of foods of animal origin – dairy, eggs, meat and fish. Therefore, the term ‘plant-based diet’ is quite broad in its connotation.’’
According to the World Health Organisation:
‘‘Plant-based diets constitute a diverse range of dietary patterns that emphasise foods derived from plant sources coupled with lower consumption or exclusion of animal products. Vegetarian diets are a subset of plant-based diets, which may exclude the consumption of some or all forms of animal foods’’.
Common vegetarian diets:
- Vegan diets omit all animal products, including meat, diary, fish, eggs, and (usually) honey.
- Lacto-vegetarian diets exclude meat, fish, poultry, and eggs, but include dairy products such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, and butter.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarian diets include eggs and dairy, but not meat or fish.
- Ovo-vegetarian diets exclude meat, poultry, seafood, and dairy products, but allow eggs.
- Pesco-vegetarian (or pescetarian) diets include fish, dairy, and eggs, but not meat.
- Semi-vegetarian (or flexitarian) diets are primarily vegetarian but include meat, dairy, eggs, poultry, and fish on occasion, or in small quantities.
Picture from Plant-based diets and their impact on health, sustainability and the environment: a review of the evidence: WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases.