Climate Change: "Meat Should be Reserved for Special Occasions"

The global food system today directly and indirectly impacts personal and planetary health and burdens the health care system and climate as a result. Rethinking our diet and food choices and using technology can make a lasting difference on the health of people and our planet.

At MEDICA 2021, Dr. Kristin Hünninghaus took part in the MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM "Health Tech & Climate Change" expert panel. In this MEDICA-tradefair.com interview, she talks about the problems today's food system is causing, explains the optimal diet for human health and reveals the technologies we can use to make our food consumption more sustainable.

Dr. Hünninghaus, the Essen University Hospital is on its way to becoming a Green Hospital. You oversee the facility's nutrition services. What are the challenges of today's food system?

Dr. Kristin Hünninghaus: A large multidisciplinary health care team is responsible for nutrition support at Essen University Hospital, and I am a part of this team.

Today's food system has many facets. It has a direct impact on individual and population health. Many people have an unbalanced and unhealthy diet. The standard Western diet is high in protein with red and processed meats and other highly processed foods that contain vast amounts of added sugar and sodium, which leads to noncommunicable or chronic diseases. Examples include obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, which often result in premature deaths and poor quality of life. All this is putting a strain on our health care system and means higher medical costs. Apart from individual and public health, planetary health also plays a key role in this setting.

Our food system is responsible for at least 26 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The production of animal-based foods accounts for 83 percent of diet-related greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, thus playing a pivotal role.

The rising levels of antibiotic resistance are likewise linked to our food system. Intensive animal farming and the housing conditions of animals are made possible by feeding livestock high volumes of antibiotics. The use is often prophylactic and intended for disease prevention. However, this leads to the growth and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can then spread from animals to humans.

Zoonotic diseases (also known as zoonoses) are also associated with our food system. These are infectious diseases that have jumped from a non-human animal to humans. Land-use changes such as deforestation and intensive animal husbandry are reducing the separation between human homes and animal facilities, thus increasing the risk of new zoonotic diseases. Most tropical rainforests are being destroyed to grow livestock feed, which subsequently results in catastrophic biodiversity loss. Coronaviruses are zoonotic and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic gives us a first-hand glimpse of the devastating impact of zoonotic diseases.

What does an optimal diet for human health look like?

Hünninghaus: The so-called EAT-Lancet Commission got together to answer this question. It subsequently developed the Planetary Health Diet. This is a vegan to flexitarian diet. Flexitarian means an emphasis on plant-based foods. Approximately 50 percent of your plate should be fruits and vegetables, a greater proportion should be made up of whole grains, plant-based proteins including legumes, and vegetable oils containing polyunsaturated fats with smaller portions of meat and dairy products. We should cut back on meat, reserving it for special occasions like the weekend again, for example. It is a win-win diet that is good for both people and our planet.

What technologies can make diet and nutrition more sustainable in hospitals?

Hünninghaus: Waste prevention is an approach that can save money and natural resources. It's an important aspect for staff members since they often only have time for takeout food. We use a smartphone app that helps you get takeout and deliveries in returnable, reusable containers.

Some software programs can calculate the carbon footprint of food products. You can enter the food items to get a score that shows your carbon emissions and indicates how much water and land area was used to produce your meal. The scores can be published, enabling consumers to see whether they have chosen carbon neutral food.

There are also software programs that record and digitize these processes in the inventory management system. It enables users to see where resources might be wasted to then determine optimization potentials.

You have many approaches that can merge green and smart hospital concepts effectively as digitization and sustainability are the key aspects of a pioneering health care system.

You were part of an expert panel on health tech and climate change at MEDICA 2021. How did you like this format?

Hünninghaus: I really enjoyed it and was amazed to see climate change among the topics that were being addressed at MEDICA. I think it would be great if the trade fair expands on this aspect in the future since climate change will increasingly affect our health care system in the future, making it impossible to ignore. It is important to inform the public as much as possible, to raise awareness and educate everyone about the many win-win strategies and innovations that can emerge from this crisis.