HKBU Guest Lecture “What we eat matters”
Dextrin, Emulsifier, Polysaccharides. Do they sound edible to you? You may not have heard of these chemicals but you may be digesting them every day.
On 9th Jan, 2024, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) was invited to the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) to deliver a guest lecture on sustainable consumption and production of foods and to promote a “Planet-based Diet” that benefits the health of both people and the nature.
A conventional diet includes ultra-processed foods that are made with chemicals or have deteriorated nature during their processing, e.g. spam. In the meantime, a “Planet-based Diet” includes seasonal foods or “Real Foods” which are unprocessed, minimally processed, or processed but have not been negatively affected during the processing, e.g. grilled pork chop.
Students from HKBU were invited to come on stage and try out the “Planet-based Diet Calculator” to see how their diets affect their health and the environment. Results indicated that their diets exceeded planetary boundaries and irreversible environmental degradation may occur if it continues.
WWF concluded the lecture by pointing out that individual behavioral change is important to achieving sustainability. WWF encouraged students to walk out of their comfort zones, be more curious about sustainable ways of living, and have a desire to change. Policymaking may play a big role in saving nature but individual support is also important. WWF reminded students that every little step helps and they can ask themselves “What might I do.”
Many students raised their hands on wanting to change their diet. What about you? Would you like to make a different choice on what you eat and help advance sustainability? It may be hard to change others but we can change ourselves as long as we want to. If you are interested in knowing more about “Planet-based Diets,” please visit https://planetbaseddiets.panda.org/insights