Diet for a Green Planet Food that makes us feel good and that our planet can produce in a sustainable way.

Södertälje municipality has imple- policy was formulated, and step by mented the concept “Diet for a Green step the municipality has worked Planet” in the public food sector sin- towards a more sustainable food ce 2010. This work has led to several supply, both in-house and through awards, notably “The school meal-mu- development projects. nicipality of the year” award. In 2015 the EU-project MatLust star- The meal concept was developed ted with the goal to develop a sus- during two research projects; BERAS tainable food sector in Stockholm (2003-2006) and BERAS Implementa- County, as well as creating a regio- tion (2010-2013). The Södertälje Muni- nal knowledge center in Södertälje. cipality participated in a leading role MatLust helps small and medium size in development and implementation enterprises within the food sector to of the concept. grow sustainably.

The journey towards a sustainable Diet for a Green Planet concept is fun- public food sector started in 2001, damental to MatLust. when Södertälje Municipality took a political decision to use food as a tool in work of sustainability. A food Sustainable in several ways Diet for a Green Planet is a research-based concept that incorporates sustainability in several aspects.

Climate

• Food production is energy consu- Health ming to produce and creates • A healthy lifestyle includes a va- emissions, notably greenhouse ried and nutrient rich diet. Vege- gasses. It is therefore important tables, whole grains and legumes to decrease food waste. are full of vitamins, minerals and • Meat production requires large fiber, necessary for a healthy diet. areas of land and creates emis- • Eat meat and meat products in sions. Consumption of meat needs moderation. to be reduced, in favor of more vegetable-based foods. Biodiversity and soil • We need to cut carbon dioxide fertility from our atmosphere. This can • Varied agricultural practices, be done through creating natural with a diversity of plants and carbon sinks, where biomass and animals provides our landscape, humus can contain excessive car- fields and planet with biodiversi- bon. ty. • Transport is energy intensive and • A living soil contains millions of needs to decrease and develop in microorganisms making it pro- a climate friendly way. ductive and a part of the earth’s biodiversity. Baltic Sea and eutrophication Land use • The Baltic Sea is one of the most • We have approximately 1,4 billion polluted in the world, mainly from hectares of arable land on Earth, phosphorus and nitrogen deposits. meaning that each human has This is largely caused by agricul- roughly 2000 m2 at their disposal. tural practices.Eat meat and meat • In Sweden, this translates to the products in moderation. double the number of square me- • The agricultural sector needs to ters per person. Diet for a Green reduce the release of pollutants Planet gives us a possibility of into the connecting waterways. keeping within the 2000 m2 boun- dary. • Planet gives us a possibility of keeping within the 2000 m2 boun- dary.

Ecological Recycling Agriculture (ERA) An agricultural method which minimizes the negati- ve environmental impact of agriculture on the Baltic Sea and other water resources, simultaneously giving a positive climate effect. There is a balance between the number of animals and the land area. Manure and crops become part of an ecological cycle.

• The number of animals should not creates carbon sinks. Good for the cli- exceed more than the farm itself can mate and soil fertility! provide for. This minimizes the nutri- • Avoiding chemical fertilizers and pes- ent leakage into the water ways and ticides to help wild plants, animals, avoids the need for transportation of insects and microorganisms to flou- fertilizers and fodder. Positive outco- rish. Good for biodiversity and soil mes for both the Baltic Sea and the fertility! climate! • Letting grazing animals out onto • Growing different crops in rotation, fields and pastures helps biodiversity including perennial plants, to avoid through the support this offers plants soil degradation and monocultures. and microorganisms, which otherwise This increases biodiversity and soil would disappear from the landscape. fertility. Good for biodiversity! • Cultivating perennial grasses and clo- vers helps increase humus-levels and Diet for a Green Planet – the Criteria Diet for a Green Planet builds on five criteria which can be implemented anywhere in the world, but provides different foods depending on location and time of the year.

Tasty and healthy food sources. Choose wholegrain products To have a sustainable diet that is wi- in contrast to refined grains. This is dely applied it needs to be well prepa- more filling, nutrient-dense and crea- red, well combined and healthy. tes less food waste.

Organic, and preferably from re- Locally produced in season. cycling agriculture Products produced in a sustainable In lack of ecological recycling agricul- way close to its end-consumer are au- ture, EU-organic or Swedish KRAV-la- tomatically in season. The definition beled products can be used. of local varies, roughly max of 50-250 km from end consumer. Less meat, more vegetables, legu- mes and wholegrains. Less food waste A benchmark is a maximum of 10-20% Minimization of waste, through the meat, fish and egg of your total food whole chain of production, proces- intake. Choose meat from well raised sing, distribution and preparation, animals, and fish from sustainable and from your own plate. Tips for Chefs There are many ways to work more sustainably in your kitchen. Here are a few tips and tricks from the school chefs in Södertälje Municipality.

• Serve vegetables as separate as possible, with the dressing and herbs on the side. The guest can mix and match as they please. The economic up-side to this is that you can use the leftovers for cooking, for example in soups, stews and vegetable-based pat- ties. • Use left-over bread to make breadcrumbs for your fish dishes. • Write the animal-free dish first on your menus. • Place the animal-free dish first on your buffet and serve in a similar way to other dishes, this destig- matizes animal-free choices.

A new food-pyramid Some foods we can eat a lot of, whi- the forests and we can start to pick- le we should decrease the intake le and preserve our finds.­ of others to reduce our climate and environmental impact. At the base Autumn of the new food pyramide are ex- A season for heart-warming stews. amples of things that we can eat No more fresh greens, but a rich- every day, such as Swedish legu- ness of root vegetables, different mes, root vegetables and cereals. cabbages, leek and pumpkins, local In the center is Swedish meat and fruit can be found up until Christ- other animal products that can be mas. This is also the time for hun- included 2-3 times per week. On ting and slaughtering. Wild meat the top of the pyramid are products and lamb is plentiful, meaning that which should be seldom consumed, rich stews with meat and vegeta- as they have a high climate effect. bles are the delight of the season. Different conditions for food pro- Winter duction will differentiate the pyra- Time for root vegetables, as we are mid over the year. starting to empty our stocks. The Spring and early summer base consists of root vegetables, Time for early fruits and vegeta- cabbage and onions as well as gra- bles, a difficult period since there is ins and legumes. To get something little left from last year’s harvest. fresh you can choose sprouts and Dry products like legumes and ce- seeds, complemented with pickled reals of different varieties are an and canned products. important base during this time of the year, and eventually the new potatoes and vegetables start pop- ping up. This is also the best time Make your own pyramid from the for eating mackerel, a healthy cli- outside Rarely mate-friendly fish. season and what you can get locally!

Summer and early autumn Sometimes A time of abundance, tomatoes, cu- cumber, squash, fresh peas and be- ans, broccoli, cabbage, root vegeta- Often ble and a variety of greens. Berries and mushrooms can be gathered in

Good for people. Good for the planet. Diet for a Green Planet is a healthy diet in accor- dance with national health recommendations, and can be produced in a sustainable way for our pla- net. The concept can be applied all over the world and will result in different meals depending on location and season.

Diet for a Green Planet has the called “One Planet Plate” was laun- same outset as the EAT-Lancet re- ched. This diet corresponds well to port “Food, Planet, Health”. This Diet for a Green Planet and promo- prestigious report compiled by 35 tes sustainable meals which benefits international scientists in Janua- the climate, world biodiversity and ry 2019 confirms the criteria set by human health. Diet for a Green Planet.

This is also true for World Wildlife Fund, when in 2018 a diet concept