
Foods for healthier people and a healthier planet [pdf] - znpy
https://www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-02/Knorr_Future_50_Report_FINAL_Online.pdf
======
mises
It's worth noting for anyone that advocates this sort of diet that it is a
luxury. Many people mention that you can make good food on such a diet, but it
is doubtless time-consuming. What of those who work by the hour? And the
ingredients are expensive. Many of the fancy foods on here come from Whole
Foods, not HEB. Even if they become affordable, the time aspect is still
important; most don't want to spend 2 hours cooking regularly.

Honest question for those who follow such a diet: how do you not feel hungry?
If I don't have meat, I tend to stay hungry. I regularly eat lots of meat for
this reason, and am still very slim (no health issues), so it's not like it's
hurting me. I tried not eating meat for a month or so, and I perform
measurably worse (comparing my output on days when I ate meat vs not). Maybe
it just doesn't work for everyone?

~~~
NumberWangMan
Meat is very calorie dense due to the fat content -- if you don't eat it, you
need to substitute a plant food that is also relatively calorie dense (like
beans, lentils, or potatoes) but also, probably just eat more of it. I found
that I needed to eat more when I became a vegan, and even more now that I'm
trying to put on muscle mass.

Also, beans are a good substitute because they tend to dampen blood sugar
swings, due to the way they feed our gut flora. And a sudden drop in blood
sugar is a big reason for feeling hungry. This property of beans is known as
the "second meal effect".

Note that just because you are slim and not having health issues, does not
mean that meat is not gradually harming your health. There is rather
overwhelming evidence that the cholesterol and saturated fat in meat is
harmful to our circulatory health, and also that meat protein intake is linked
to cancer growth by triggering the body to create IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth
Gactor 1).

Many people feel like (or are told) that they are craving protein, when in
reality what they are craving is just more calories. Consider that most of us
have had a lifetime to figure out what works for us with a meat-based diet,
and were taught by our parents -- switching to a different diet isn't trivial.
There are lots of good resources out there, but unfortunately, also lots of
misinformation.

~~~
mises
> you need to substitute a plant food that is also relatively calorie dense
> (like beans, lentils, or potatoes)

I tried this; not much help. I was used to a diet of essentially no carbs (and
had found it beneficial for me), and actually switched because I had a friend
who would not shut up about not eating meat and wouldn't stop until I did. I
can indeed eat more, but occasionally I would get full and still not feel
"full".

> meat is harmful to our circulatory health

I'm not so sure about this one. I've read about the adverse effects of IGF-1
with respect to cancer, but that seems to be more because it is a growth
hormone. Is it any wonder a growth hormone can cause caner to grow? IGF-1, by
keeping new cells forming, could help mitigate things like lower bone density
and lower muscle tone with age.

I've tried replacing protein-calories with carb-calories. I gained a good
amount of weight doing so, and didn't feel nearly as good. I'm much happier
and healthier back on my old diet. Lots of meat (mostly white)/eggs/fish, a
good amount of veggies, some fruit, lots of nuts, lots of dairy. Almost no
sugar/soda/fried stuff/other such junk.

Maybe different people do best on different diets, and we should recognize
that what's good for one is not always good for another. What irritates me is
when people get sanctimonious about it and say that I'm evil if I don't eat
their diet, even when my quality of life, health, and productivity is
significantly better doing it my way.

~~~
windexh8er
> I tried this; not much help. I was used to a diet of essentially no carbs
> (and had found it beneficial for me), and actually switched because I had a
> friend who would not shut up about not eating meat and wouldn't stop until I
> did. I can indeed eat more, but occasionally I would get full and still not
> feel "full".

The question I ask when people bring this up is always: what type of carbs?
Generally you know you're eating junk carbs when the ratio of carbohydrates to
fiber is greater than 5 to 1 [0]. Processed carbs will help you pack on the
weight fast, especially since most processed carbs are all coming from non-
whole grains.

A lot of my friends/colleagues like to claim they're on a low/no carb diet.
When posed with the question of how they get fiber or critical
vitamins/nutrients they're failing to understand that all plants have carbs. A
cup of kale has 6 grams in fact. The better approach should be to look at what
type of carbs you're consuming vs eating less of all of them. The SAD consumer
is often getting very little dietary fiber, unfortunately and even more so now
with a lot of the misinformation about how carbs are blanket bad.

[0] [https://nutritionfacts.org/2018/05/08/follow-
the-5-to-1-rule...](https://nutritionfacts.org/2018/05/08/follow-
the-5-to-1-rule-for-packaged-foods/)

~~~
mises
> what type of carbs?

When I say carbs, I mostly mean grains, potatoes. I know most everything
contains at least some, but it's a bit of a colloquialism and hard to avoid.
Some occasional beans, oats, etc. I tried eating more of these as part of a
diet, and beans were somewhat of a help, but I still didn't feel the same.

> A cup of kale has 6 grams

I hate kale. Everyone pushes it as a superfood, but the texture is disgusting.
Also, a recent report showed it had tons of pesticides. I can't help wondering
if people eat it out of the same mentality that makes us think medicine should
taste bad.

> dietary fiber

I think I put this above, but I ate beans, nuts, some oats, and fruits and
veggies. I just had a lot of meat as well (as in, half to three-fifths of my
plate). I wasn't on the typical Western-pattern diet by any means.

I honestly believe a plant-based diet just doens't work for everyone. And I
will continue eating what works best for me, though I'm always open to trying
something that could be better (the entire reason I tried plant-based in the
first place).

~~~
radicalbyte
Kale is really nice if you freeze it, boil it then put it in mashed potatoes.
Throw a smoked sausage and a bit of bacon in and you're sorted.

[https://coquinaria.nl/en/dutch-winterfare/](https://coquinaria.nl/en/dutch-
winterfare/)

~~~
mises
And we're back to the time issue. Also, I'm not sure I should have to do that
much to food (destroy the internal structure, cook it, and cover it up) just
to make it palatable.

------
OneWordSoln
(Side note: that is one gorgeous document.)

After watching the excellent documentary "Eating You Alive", I have mostly
switched to a whole-food plant-based diet and feel fantastic, although I do
eat the occasional pair of eggs. The big difficulty with the diet is avoiding
all the refined oils that permeate our packaged food culture. Luckily, my wife
is a professional cook and still cooks at home.

That said, this document already has some of my favs and has added a ton of
new ideas. This crazy diet is really difficult just from a "finding foods I
can actually eat" sense. As such, I have lost a few pounds but one thing I
notice for sure is that my skin is in much better shape now. The beautiful
thing about the diet is that I find that my body can handle cheat foods much
better and I feel happy to get back on the diet right after.

Of all the things I miss, I miss cheese the most, but coffee with oat milk is
just fine. Ultimately, I think the beauty of this diet is that I am forced to
eat things like beans, tubers, tofu and whole grains for lack of anything else
to eat. And I'm usually so dang hungry that I love them, thanks to my wife's
efforts.

Oh, and the diet is actually much less expensive, especially when you buy dry
beans.

~~~
sachdevap
Did I miss something in this comment? I don't understand the downvotes.

~~~
OneWordSoln
Thanks for asking the obvious, but I sure don't know and the only people who
do have a clue (i.e. those who did the downvoting) probably don't have the
guts to explain themselves because it would likely prove their pettiness.

That we live in a world full of cowards is the sad-ass truth.

------
pndy
Knorr Future 50 Report? Title should be changed to inform that it's not WWF
report alone.

~~~
mekoka
I scanned the report for Knorr's involvement and nothing seemed fishy to me.
There was this paragraph:

 _This was assessed by Knorr cross-functional teams of marketers,
nutritionists, chefs, and product developers spanning across Asia, Africa,
North America, South America, Europe and Australia, who answered the
assessment questions with yes /no/maybe for every ingredient. The data were
collated and assessed to determine which foods should potentially be
eliminated based on responses. If more than half of the countries answered
‘no’ to one of the questions, the ingredient was eliminated. The relative
nutrient density scores (NRF) were considered when choosing between foods with
similar input, ensuring the foods in the final list would be nutritious._

Then later near the bottom:

 _Knorr and WWF have joined forces with other leaders in nutrition and
sustainability to develop Future 50 Foods_

 _In writing this report, Knorr, WWF and Adam Drewnowski are grateful for
input and review from experts at Bioversity International, Crops For the
Future, EAT Foundation, Edelman, Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU), Food
Reform for Sustainability and Health (FReSH), GAIN, Global Crop Diversity
Trust, Gro Intelligence, Oxfam GB, SDG2 Advocacy Hub, Wageningen University
and Yolélé Foods. This report ultimately reflects the views of Knorr, WWF and
Adam Drewnowski. The creation of this report was led by Dorothy Shaver,
Registered Dietitian and Global Knorr Sustainability Lead. It was published in
February 2019._

------
tyingq
In case you decide to experiment with some things on the list...saffron milk
cap mushrooms turn your urine reddish orange. Harmless, but a potential scare
if you aren't aware.

------
Synaesthesia
Fava beans. You can make a very good falafel out of them and they’re cheap. I
believe falafel is the future

~~~
CodeGlitch
I admit I've never had flafel - a quick google does make them look tasty. I'm
going to definintly look into cooking some.

~~~
lucb1e
I've had falafel and don't understand why non-vegetarians/vegans rarely eat
it. It's tasty like any other food (and more tasty than some of the stuff we
do commonly eat like bread!).

------
hirundo
Of the five Guiding Principles on page 52 only about 1.5 of them are primarily
concerned with the nutrition content of the food. The rest are mostly focused
on their environmental impact.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. And clearly that's aligned with the
mission of the WWF. But I think you'd get a much different list if it was just
about maximizing the health of the eater. E.g. meat.

When I choose food at the grocery store I'm focused on which are better for
me, not Earth. If I were convinced that there is a genuine discrepancy between
those goals, I'd likely still choose me. Am I the bad guy?

~~~
Razengan
Is anybody the "bad guy?" Is anybody _not?_

The Earth will fix itself, eventually, no matter what we do to it. It's seen
worse. I mean it apparently went from a ball of lava pelted with meteorite-
nukes to the only verdant garden we have ever known, and it has already been
through at least a few cataclysms.

Even if the planet disappears overnight, the universe at large will still go
on as if we never existed.

You choose the scale you want to care about, and some levels require some
sacrifice on other levels.

~~~
intopieces
>The Earth will fix itself...

I suppose this depends on your definition of "fix," but this sounds
suspiciously like the Gaia hypothesis:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis)

Which is closer to wishful thinking than science. Sure, Earth will go on,
because Earth doesn't care. But humans are facing a climate catastrophe if
they do not course-correct their impact on the planet, and that is what we
mean by "good for the Earth" \-- that is, good for the maintaining the planet
as a place where we want to live.

------
bellerose
I think the problem for most people not eating healthier is lack of knowledge
in preparation, cooking and storing. Recently I purchased an instant pot and
it makes cooking healthy food extremely easy with decreasing prep & cleaning
time. I just throw everything into this pot with water, hit a few buttons and
wait 30mins to an hour. All goes into containers in the fridge and can be
reheated in the microwave. I can make a good week worth of food in a few
hours. I'm still trying to perfect different meals since I never used to cook.

------
xaqar
Why are all 50 items on the list "SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM!"? What do you mean the
"other" WWF?

~~~
AznHisoka
Came here for this comment. For me there is no other WWF, damn it!

------
2T1Qka0rEiPr
> Eating less common varieties of vegetables... drives demand which will
> increase the variety of types of crops grown, which, in turn, makes the food
> system more resilient

I _get_ this, but it seems fundamentally at odds with economies of scale which
surely the natural market would gravitate towards. Seems like government
intervention would be necessary here to overcome the externalities that
growing a single variety at extreme quantities creates?

~~~
luckylion
Growing a single variety is likely too risky. While you may be able to
minimize the risk with artificial watering, pest control etc, if it strikes,
you'll end your company. Most companies don't aim for a series of all-or-
nothing-bets even if the odds are in their favor on each one, they hedge their
bets.

~~~
2T1Qka0rEiPr
This might be true, but there are plenty of cases where this is exactly the
case (e.g. bananas, rubber). Also, as the article points out, there are
"heirloom" crops which would surely mitigate this danger somewhat but would
presumably still be perfect for economies of scale - e.g. due to the reduced
marginal cost for R&D to build machines etc. appropriate for harvesting?

~~~
luckylion
Bananas are an example of a local single-crop bet, and they are hedged by
planting different crops elsewhere. There certainly is a desire to reduce
variety, but it's likely to come down to a few dozen plants (out of thousands,
and for each one, there have been hundreds of variations and sub-types), not
to a single one - too risky, and regional conditions are too different to have
a one-size-fits-all-crop.

------
seltzered_
I bookmarked this a couple weeks ago, to help with your own note-taking,
here's the list:

# Algae

Laver seaweed

Wakame seaweed

Beans & Pulses

Adzuki beans

Black turtle beans

Broad beans

Bambara groundnuts

Cowpeas Lentils

# Cacti

Nopales

# Cereals & Grains

Amaranth

Buckwheat

Finger millet

Fonio

Knorasan wheat

Quinoa

Spelt

# Fruit Vegetables

Pumpkin flowers

Okra

Orange tomatoes

# Leaf Greens

Beet greens

Broccoli rabe

Kale

Moringa

Pak-choi

Pumpkin leaves

# Mushrooms

Enoki mushrooms

Maitake mushrooms

Saffron milk cap mushrooms

# Nuts & Seeds

Flax seeds

Hemp seeds

Sesame seeds

Walnuts

# Root Vegetables

Black salsify

Parsley root

White icicle radish

# Sprouts

Alfalfa sprouts

Sprouted kidney beans

Sprouted chickpeas

# Tubers

Lotus root

Ube (purple yam)

Jicama

Red Indonesian sweet potato

~~~
Jeff_Brown
It looks like you left out the # next to Beans and Pulses.

------
aszantu
So my depression, anxiety and adhd went away when I stopped eating plants. I
have one sack of plastic waste per month and I buy locally and I spend about
16€ / week on meat and a few bucks more on cheese and eggs.

~~~
majewsky
What qualifies you to extrapolate this single case into a global policy
suggestion (as you seem to be implying)?

------
jriot
Maybe we should eat foods native to our culture and region. Being from
Louisiana, I eat plenty of meat (I have no ethical qualms with animals dying
so I can eat meat, its apart of life), vegetables that can grow in the region,
starches that also grow in the region e.g.,, converted Louisiana white rice,
and take in a good portion of dairy. I don't need my food imported from around
the world, I eat what is grown and raised here. Couple that with an active
lifestyle and I don't see any need to change.

~~~
lucb1e
> I have no ethical qualms with animals dying so I can eat meat

Of the people I know that do not eat meat, including myself, they don't not
eat it because of religion or animal pity...

------
lucb1e
> The Bambara groundnut is considered ‘complete food’ because of the balance
> of macronutrients accompanied by the amino acid and fatty acid content.

Is a "complete food" a food that supplies most of what we need? I've heard one
could almost live on potatoes, with only some vitamin supplements, is that
also a 'complete food'?

~~~
tzs
> I've heard one could almost live on potatoes, with only some vitamin
> supplements, is that also a 'complete food'?

Yes. Here's an article about it, and some one actually tried it for a while
[1].

[1] [https://www.popsci.com/nutrition-single-food-
survival](https://www.popsci.com/nutrition-single-food-survival)

------
rpiguy
The tone of the comments in this thread terrify me. We have exchanged one set
of preachers trying to tell us how to live with a new set of preachers telling
us how to live and it is just as bad or worse. Always a group of people trying
to suppress your freedom and advertise their virtue.

~~~
Pfhreak
What does your comment even mean? "Here's 50 foods that reduce impact and feed
more people"

"STOP OPPRESSING ME!"

Really? Like, if you don't think these foods are worth your time, maybe just
do your own thing? These foods are already widely eaten by a whole range of
people, cultures, and socieconomic statuses.

~~~
rpiguy
I will happily do my own thing, until the do goodies decide my hamburger is
destroying the environment and adding to national health costs and decide to
tax it into oblivion. The article wasn’t bad, I was more offput by the
comments. I will edit my post to remove the reference to the article.

~~~
byteman
Well are you disputing the damage inflicted to the environment by meat
consumption, or are you saying you should be allowed to harm the environment
with no limitation or consequence whatsoever?

~~~
rpiguy
Yes to both. Certified climate change skeptic right here.

------
qwerty456127
Looks yummy.

------
Valmar
So... a Vegan diet?

No thanks.

~~~
jdavis703
This list recommends many foods that are rare in common western diets. You can
eat none of the foods, some of the foods, or exclusively all the foods listed.

------
papermachete
This is a joke, right? Call me when they sell this at my local groceries' (for
cheap).

~~~
fenwick67
Many of the items on this list are very cheap today.

~~~
fsloth
This. Western world has a bit skewed view of food anyway, since most
distribution is handled by large companies that optimize for their own profit,
and this applies to producers as well. We couldn't survive without modern
"food chains", but that does not mean the crops used by the modern processes
are the only viable ones. Rather, they are the most popular ones for which the
processes have been optimized for.

~~~
SlowRobotAhead
>Western world has a bit skewed view of food anyway, since most distribution
is handled by large companies that optimize for their own profit

Where in the world is food distributed by non-companies for no profit?
Venezuela? Cuba?

~~~
Synaesthesia
Venezuela is actually capitalist, almost everything is privately owned and not
government run.

~~~
SlowRobotAhead
>Venezuela is actually capitalist,

Really? Source? Because the government took over and controls the means of
production. So you can see how I am confused by you saying that Venezuela
isn’t “really” socialism.

Or you can answer the topic at hand. Where is food distuributon successful
where “companies optimizing for profit” is not the case.

~~~
Synaesthesia
The government has intervened to bring food to the poorest people, who have
been cut off by corporations which do actually control the food supply. The
government never took over the means of production.

------
otabdeveloper2
> FOCUS ON PLANT-BASED FOODS

A great idea if you want to save the planet by having people die out from
exploding (pun intended) obesity.

~~~
Pfhreak
What's the pun? And what's the connection between a diet primarily built
around plants and obesity?

------
kylek
First thought- HELL YAH I'M READY TO SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM. Second-
disappointment :/

