Barriers to broader adoption of a planetary health diet in the US – Food environment (cost and access) – Attitudes, preferences, and norms • Challenges to reducing meat consumption • Complicating connections between cooking at home and sustainable diets

1. Dr. Julia Wolfson, PhD MPP
Associate Professor
Department of International Health
Department of Health Policy and Management
October 25, 2022
Main difficulties of health promotion for the
implementation of the planetary or reference diet

2. • Barriers to broader adoption of a planetary health diet in
the US
– Food environment (cost and access)
– Attitudes, preferences, and norms
• Challenges to reducing meat consumption
• Complicating connections between cooking at home and
sustainable diets

3. The US diet

4. Dietary intakes
compared to
recommendations
Source: Dietary guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 “percent of us population aged 1 and older who are below and at or above each dietary goal

5. Ultra-processed foods
Source: Juul et al., AJCN (2021)

6. Poor diet quality is a longstanding problem

7. Barrier: Food environment
• Access
– Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish
– Food desert / food swamp neighborhoods
• Affordability
– Higher cost of more sustainable ingredients
– Time costs, equipment, and effort to prepare
healthier/sustainable foods

8. Food environment and normative eating
Source: USDA, ERS

9. Meat consumption
Source: Neff et al. Public Health Nutrition (2018) and https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-right-wingers-are-going-crazy-about-meat

10. Reasons Americans reduce meat consumption
Source: Neff et al. Public Health Nutrition (2018)

11. Taste and affordability are top concerns
Source: Menus of Change, 2022

12. Strategies to reduce meat consumption
Source: Neff et al. Public Health Nutrition (2018)

13. Cooking at home
is also associated
with high GHGE
Source: Wolfson et al., IJERPH, 2022

14. Americans who
cook more often
consume more
meat
Source: Wolfson et al., IJERPH, 2022

15. Cooking and climate impact (GHGE)
Source: Wolfson et al., IJERPH, 2022

16. Conclusion
Source: Fanzo et al. Nature Food (2020)

17. Gracias!
jwolfso7@jhu.edu