India’s eating pattern is most sustainable for the Earth says, WWF Living Planet report

A report released by WWF Living Planet says India’s food consumption pattern is the most sustainable among the major economies (G20 countries) of the world. It says this method is the most climate-friendly for Earth to support food production by 2050 if other countries also follow this pattern. It mentioned Argentina, Australia, and the United States are the worst on the list.

It further says that if everyone adopts the food habits of major economies by 2050, the Earth would exceed the 1.5° Celsius climate warming limit for food-related emissions by 263% and would need one to seven Earths to support humans needs. It especially emphasizes India’s millet mission.

The paper states that if all countries adopt India’s current food consumption patterns, the world will need less than one planet (0.84) to support food production by 2050. India’s approach is even better than the planetary limit for greenhouse gas emissions and allows us to stay below a 1.5° Celsius increase in temperature.

It further says the world will require 7.4 earths if it goes behind the food consumption habits of countries like Argentina. Argentina comes under the countries having the weakest sustainability followed by Australia, the USA, Brazil, France, Italy, Canada, and the UK. While talking about the topmost, Indonesia stands at second spot after India followed by China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.

The report also applauded India’s ongoing efforts to promote climate-resilient millets (nutri-cereals) which says, the National Millet Campaign aims to increase national consumption of this ancient grain, which is beneficial to health and climate resilience.

The study says that adopting more sustainable diets would decrease the land needed for food production, especially freeing up grazing land for nature restoration and carbon capture. It also emphasized the importance of promoting healthy protein sources alternatives like legumes, Nutri-cereals, plant-based meat, and nutritious algae.

 India has taken various steps to provide a sustainable food culture including National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). The mission aims to provide sustainable agriculture across the country as well as the globe. It has been introduced for enhancing agricultural productivity, especially in rainfed areas focusing on integrated farming, water use efficiency, soil health management, and synergizing resource conservation.

NMSA derives its mandate from the Sustainable Agriculture Mission which is one of the eight Missions outlined under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

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