A diet that’s good for your health is also good for the planet, according to a new study by a group of Cornell University professors.

If Americans made changes such as eating fewer animal products, junk foods and processed foods and more locally grown produce, energy use in the food system could be cut in half, said David Pimentel, a Cornell professor of ecology and agricultural sciences.

“In the U.S., nearly 20 percent of all energy goes into the food system,” Pimentel said. “It’s almost as much energy as we use in our total automobiles in the U.S.”

An example of an energy-wasteful food choice is diet soda. The average American consumes 600 cans of soda a year, Pimentel said. “If you have a diet soda that has one calorie of food energy in it, to produce the carbonated soda that’s in the can requires 600 calories of fossil energy,” he said. “And then to put it into an aluminum can is an additional 1,600 calories.

“So that you can drink 1 calorie of diet soda requires 2,200 calories of fossil energy,” he said.

A carbohydrate-conscious diet is not a carbon-conscious diet, according to the study. Consumption of animal protein should be cut by half, Pimentel said.

On average, Americans eat 112 grams of protein per day, with a little more than 70 grams coming from animal proteins. Eating locally grown foods as much as possible is definitely better for the environment and often better for your health, Pimentel said.

Pimentel and five co-authors just published the paper in the journal Human Ecology.

To reach this goal at maximum benefit to your health and the planet, a group of Cornell researchers recommends these reductions:
• 40-65 percent reduction in meat, fish, milk, sweeteners, fats and oils
• 15 percent reduction in grains and starchy roots
• No reduction in eggs, nuts, vegetables and fruit

—Krisy Gashler, The Ithaca Journal, 8/14/08