Based on recent research by the Climate and Health Alliance, the Irish diet and food system are like a slow-motion disaster, contributing to early mortality and disability from diet-related chronic illnesses.
The research recommends breaking the loop of junk food consumption and moving towards more plant-based diets in place of processed foods.
According to the research, while the world’s food supply can feed everyone, it has also led to increased obesity and illness.
In addition, it is estimated to be responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions, damages biodiversity, and pollutes rivers and air.
The research is concerned that the Irish diet is becoming increasingly dominated by ultra-processed foods and large amounts of red and processed meat instead of fruit, vegetables, plant proteins, whole grains, and sustainable seafood.
The alliance has called for a special Cabinet sub-committee to oversee “a food revolution” and for the farming industry to be a key part of the solution.
A dietitian with the Irish Heart Foundation said the “playbook for smoking” needs to be applied to junk food.
“This is like a slow-motion disaster unfolding before our eyes,” said spokesman Tim Collins, chief executive of the Irish Heart Foundation – one of the Climate and Health Alliance’s founding members.
“The global food system we have created can feed the world but has also made us heavier and sicker, it destroys wildlife, pollutes our rivers and air and produces a third of our greenhouse gas emissions.
“In Ireland, we now have a disturbing overconsumption-undernutrition paradox.”