Harvard Researchers: ‘Planet-Friendly’ Diet Promotes Human Longevity, Cuts GHG Emissions
By Steven Hoffman
Was Frances Moore Lappé ahead of her time when she wrote the bestseller Diet for a Small Planet? The book, which has sold more than three million copies since it was first published in 1971, argued that industrial food production has a negative impact on the environment. Presenting a basic guide for a healthy diet along with recipes, Lappé’s groundbreaking book advocated for “environmental vegetarianism.”
Now, in time for the Northern Hemisphere’s extreme summer heat, researchers at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health suggest that a “Planetary Health Diet” (PHD) that emphasizes fruits, vegetables and whole grains, while allowing for modest consumption of meat and dairy products, reduces the risk of premature death in humans by nearly one third – while also reducing the release of greenhouse gases that are linked to global warming and climate change.
The study, published on June 10, 2024, in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that the risk of premature death was 30% lower in the top 10% of participants most closely adhering to the Planetary Health Diet compared to those in the lowest 10%. Every major cause of death, including cancer, heart disease and lung disease, was lower with greater adherence to this dietary pattern, said the study’s authors.
“For every major cause of death we looked at, there was a lower risk in people with better adherence to the Planetary Health Diet,” Walter Willett, M.D., professor of epidemiology and nutrition and co-author of the study, said in a statement.
In addition, the researchers found that those with the highest adherence to the PHD had a substantially lower environmental impact than those with the lowest adherence, including 29% lower greenhouse gas emissions, 21% lower fertilizer needs and 51% lower cropland use.
“Climate change has our planet on track for ecological disaster, and our food system plays a major role. Shifting how we eat can help slow the process of climate change. And what’s healthiest for the planet is also healthiest for humans,” Dr. Willet said.
The Harvard researchers noted that their work is the first large-scale study to directly evaluate the impacts of adherence to recommendations in the landmark EAT-Lancet report. Published in 2019, the report was the first full scientific review that brought together 37 world-leading scientists to ask the question, “Can we feed a future population of 10 billion people a healthy diet within planetary boundaries?”
While other studies have found that diets emphasizing plant-based foods over animal-sourced foods could have benefits for human and planetary health, most have used one-time dietary assessments, which produce weaker results than looking at diets over a long period of time, the authors noted.
As such, the researchers used health data from more than 200,000 women and men enrolled in Harvard’s Nurses’ Health Study I and II and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Participants were free of major chronic diseases at the start of the study and completed dietary questionnaires every four years for up to 34 years. Participants’ diets were scored based on intake of 15 food groups — including whole grains, vegetables, poultry and nuts — to quantify adherence to the PHD.
“Eating more whole plant foods, less animal foods and less highly processed foods is better for people and planet alike,” David Katz, M.D., told CNN in a recent interview about the study. “In this paper, we see that same message amplified: Adhering to a dietary pattern conducive to the health of the planet and sustainability is associated with meaningful reductions in all-cause mortality.” Katz is the founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine.
“Our study is noteworthy given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has refused to consider the environmental impacts of dietary choices, and any reference to the environmental effects of diet will not be allowed in the upcoming revision of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines,” said Dr. Willett. “The findings show just how linked human and planetary health are. Eating healthfully boosts environmental sustainability — which in turn is essential for the health and well-being of every person on Earth.”
In 2021, for the 50th anniversary of the publication of Diet for a Small Planet, Frances Moore Lappé wrote: “In 1970, I never imagined the impact of our diet on the looming life-and-death climate crisis. Nor that 40 years later my own daughter, Anna, would tackle this threat in Diet for a Hot Planet, enabling me to learn so much about the climate-food connection. If we achieve a societal shift toward plant-based diets, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from farming by as much as 70% by 2050.”
Lappé added: “Worldwide, if those eating meat-centered diets simply moved to popular low-meat or no-meat fare – such as traditional Mediterranean or vegetarian cuisine – emissions could be reduced by an amount equal to the current greenhouse gas emissions of all cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships. … More heartening news is that changes to farming and eating that benefit our Earth also enhance our health.”
Learn more:
Evaluating Population Diets and Planetary Health—Shining New Light
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 10, 2024
Diet for a Hot Planet, by Anna Lappé, originally published in 2010
Diet for a Small Planet, by Francis Moore Lappé, originally published in 1971
Cracking Down on Fraud: USDA Organic Enforcement Rules Take Full Effect in March 2024
This article first appeared in Presence Marketing’s September 2023 newsletter.
By Steven Hoffman
Organic food is big business in the U.S. – sales of organic products topped $61 billion in 2022 – and the certified organic label fetches a premium price for producers. So much so that fraud from both domestic and imported sources had become a major concern among organic industry business owners, investors and advocates.
That’s why such leading organizations as the Organic Trade Association (OTA) and others applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) when, earlier this year, the agency announced the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule, which is set to be fully implemented and enforced in March 2024.
Representing the biggest change to organic regulations since the passage of the Organic Food Production Act in 1990, the SOE Rule was created to crack down on organic fraud. The new rule provides “a significant increase in oversight and enforcement authority to reinforce the trust of consumers, farmers, and those transitioning to organic production. This success is another demonstration that USDA fully stands behind the organic brand,” Jenny Lester Moffitt, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, said in a statement.
“The rule closes gaps in current organic regulations and builds consistent certification practices to prevent fraud and improve the transparency and traceability of organic products. Fraud in the organic system – wherever it occurs – harms the entire organic sector and shakes the trust of consumers in organic. This regulation will have significant and far-reaching impacts on the organic sector and will do much to deter and detect organic fraud and protect organic integrity throughout the supply chain,” OTA said in support of the new rule.
Liz Figueredo, quality and regulatory director at organic certifier Quality Assurance International (QAI), based in San Diego, California, told Nutritional Outlook in July 2023 that the new SOE Rule closes supply chain loopholes that existed in previous regulations. The new rule requires organic certification for all parts of the supply chain, including handlers and suppliers who were previously exempt, she said.
“This means that certifiers can no longer depend on documentation from uncertified handlers, which was often lacking, to verify the organic status of products. The rule also includes fraud-reduction techniques, such as requiring an Import Certificate for any organic ingredients or products imported into the U.S., which provides the total volume or weight of the imported products,” Figueredo said.
Who Is Affected by the New SOE Rule?
According to USDA, the SOE Rule may affect USDA-accredited certifying agencies; organic inspectors; certified organic operations; handlers of organic products; operations considering organic certification; businesses that import or trade organic products; retailers that sell organic products; and organic supply chain participants who are not currently certified organic.
Exemptions are limited to a few low-risk activities such as very small operations; certain retail establishments that do not process; storage and warehouse facilities that only handle products in sealed, tamper-proof containers or packages; distributors that only handle final retail-packaged products; and customs and logistics brokers that do not take ownership or physical possession of organic products.
However, exempt operations must still follow all other applicable portions of organic regulations, including co-mingling and contamination prevention, labeling requirements and record keeping. Transporters that only move organic products between certified operations, or transload between modes of transportation, do not need to be individually certified, but are the responsibility of the certified operation that loads or receives the product.
To see if your business is affected and for more information, visit the full text of USDA’s SOE Rule in the Federal Register. OTA, too, has a resource page with extensive information regarding preparing for full compliance with the SOE Rule, along with exclusive training materials for association members. OTA also offers a questionnaire for businesses that may not be sure if they need certification.
What Does the SOE Rule Do?
According to USDA, “SOE protects organic integrity and bolsters farmer and consumer confidence in the USDA organic seal by supporting strong organic control systems, improving farm to market traceability, increasing import oversight authority, and providing robust enforcement of the organic regulations.”
Key updates include:
Requiring certification of more of the businesses, like brokers and traders, at critical links in organic supply chains.
Requiring NOP Import Certificates for all organic imports.
Requiring organic identification on non-retail containers.
Increasing authority for more rigorous on-site inspections of certified operations.
Requiring uniform qualification and training standards for organic inspectors and certifying agent personnel.
Requires standardized certificates of organic operation.
Requires additional and more frequent reporting of data on certified operations.
Creates authority for more robust recordkeeping, traceability practices, and fraud prevention procedures.
Specify certification requirements for producer groups.
“SOE complements and supports the many actions that USDA takes to protect the organic label, including the registration of the USDA organic seal trademark with the USPTO. The registered trademark provides authority to deter uncertified entities from falsely using the seal, which together with this new rule provides additional layers of protection to the USDA organic seal,” USDA said.
For producers wanting to learn more about navigating and adhering to these new requirements, the Western Growers Association in partnership with the Organic Produce Network will host a session at its upcoming Organic Grower Summit, Nov. 29-30, 2023, in Monterey, California, entitled “The SOE Deadline Looms–Are You Ready?” The seminar is designed to help growers better understand the upcoming rule changes, which will affect producers, distributors, handlers and importers.
In addition, organic industry and policy veterans Gwendolyn Wyard and Kim Dietz recently founded Strengthening Organic Systems, an advisory firm focused on helping businesses with organic fraud prevention, supply chain investigations and compliance with USDA’s organic anti-fraud regulations.
Read More
How Will USDA’s Organic Regulation Changes Affect the Food and Nutraceutical Industries? – Nutritional Outlook
USDA Launches Organic Integrity Database Module – Organic Insider
Tighter Rules Now in Effect for USDA Organic Seal of Approval – Cosmetics and Toiletries News
Strengthening Organic Enforcement USDA Rule – California Certified Organic Farmers
USDA Bolsters Consumer Confidence in Certified Organic Products with New Enforcement Rule – New Hope Network
Steven Hoffman is Managing Director of Compass Natural, providing public relations, brand marketing, social media, and strategic business development services to natural, organic, sustainable and hemp/CBD products businesses. Compass Natural serves in PR and programming for NoCo Hemp Expo and Southern Hemp Expo, and Hoffman serves as Editor of the weekly Let’s Talk Hemp Newsletter, published by We are for Better Alternatives. Contact steve@compassnaturalmarketing.com.