DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232021265.09742019 1833 Sustainable diets: definition, state of the art and perspectives REVIEW REVISÃO for a new research agenda in Brazil Dietas sustentáveis: definição, estado da arte e perspectivas para uma nova agenda de pesquisa no Brasil Rozane Márcia Triches (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4460-4821)1 Abstract It is an integrative literature review Resumo Trata-se de revisão de literatura inte- to discuss the emergence and construction of the grativa para discutir o surgimento e construção da definition of sustainable diets, to bring the cur- definição de dietas sustentáveis, trazer o panora- rent panorama of what has been studied about it ma atual dos estudos sobre o tema e apontar para and to point to a new research agenda in Brazil. uma nova agenda de pesquisa no Brasil. As buscas The searches conducted between April and July foram realizadas entre abril e julho de 2018, nas 2018, were carried out in the databases Science bases de dados Science Direct, Pubmed, Periódicos Direct, Pubmed, Periódicos Capes, Google Aca- Capes, Google Acadêmico, Banco de Teses, além demic, Banco de Teses, in addition to the use of do uso do método snowball, resultando em 365 the method snowball, reaching 365 articles analy- artigos analisados. A preocupação com dietas sus- zed. The concern with sustainable diets is related tentáveis está relacionada ao redirecionamento do to the redirection of the dominant food system sistema alimentar dominante no alcance de metas in the achievement of environmental and health ambientais e de saúde, considerando a cultura e goals, considering the culture and the economy. a economia. Os principais focos de interesse dos The main focus of the articles were: theoretical ef- artigos foram: esforços teóricos para conceituar o forts to conceptualize what are sustainable diets; que são dietas sustentáveis; análise de diferentes analysis of different types of diets; factors involved tipos de dietas; fatores intervenientes nas escolhas/ in consumers’ choices/behaviors; size of food pro- comportamentos dos consumidores; dimensão da duction; of health; of the economy; culture and so- produção de alimentos; da saúde; da economia; ciety; policies and governance; and discussion on da cultura e sociedade; políticas e governança; e the methodologies used to measure and analyze discussão sobre as metodologias utilizadas para the different aspects of sustainable diets. In Bra- medir e analisar os diferentes aspectos das dietas zil, only 19 papers were found, which points to the sustentáveis. No Brasil foram encontrados apenas gap in this area of research and the need to crea- 19 trabalhos, dentre os quais, nove artigos, o que 1 Programa de Pós- Graduação Stricto Sensu te this agenda of studies in the country, given its aponta para a lacuna nesta área de pesquisa e a em Agroecologia e importance for public and environmental health. necessidade de criar esta agenda de estudos no Desenvolvimento Rural Key words Food, Sustainability, Diets, Public he- país, dada sua importância para a saúde pública Sustentável, Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul. alth, Food system e ambiental. Rua Edmundo Gaievski Palavras-chave Alimentação, Sustentabilidade, 1000, Centro. 85770-000 Dietas, Saúde Pública, Sistema alimentar Realeza PR Brasil. [email protected] 1834 Triches RM Triches Introduction Considering that in the medium and long terms, food systems will be under pressures such The predominant food system has reached high as population growth, climate change, increased levels of productivity, but its consequences have competition for natural resources, urbanization called into question its efficiency in relation to and globalization of diets, and that many of sustainability and the population’s health. These their effects will be negative, it is essential that consequences can be identified in the world and strategy makers ponder the consequences of all in Brazilian population through nutrition prob- these factors of change regarding their own food lems and noncommunicable diseases, social and systems5,6. In the Brazilian case, this concern is economic issues associated with food production even more emblematic, since all the aspects men- and environmental problems. tioned above would be aggravated and the efforts Regarding food and nutrition of the Brazilian made to leave the Hunger Map could be lost. population, the nutritional transition has been Studies go further into this matter as the cur- observed in the last decades, which is character- rent food production system accounts for 20 to ized by an increase of overweight and noncom- 30% of greenhouse gas emissions; about 24% of municable chronic diseases, also associated with the arable land has some type of soil degradation a declining prevalence of undernutrition. In this depending on the agricultural model adopted; context, obesity was consolidated as a nutritional the use of land for monoculture and livestock issue associated with the high incidence of car- farming has led to deforestation and loss of much diovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes, thus of the biodiversity; and water has been contami- influencing the morbidity and mortality profile nated, including sea water, leading to imbalances of the populations. The latest data released by in the marine environment. However, not only Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics does food production generate environmental (IBGE)1 on the Brazilian Household Budget Sur- problems, but also the processes included in the vey (2008-2009) indicate that around 50% of the supply chain, such as transport, processing and adult population and one third of the child pop- preparation of food, as well as wastage and waste ulation are overweight. generated7-9. With regard to production, a productive Given this context, it is necessary to rethink model has been strengthened in the last decades, the consumption of food and especially the diets. which disseminates practices and offers types of What and how much we eat impacts directly on food that are closely linked to this health scenar- what and how much we produce, and therefore io. This model is based on intensive, mechanized it is necessary that diets be more sustainable and agriculture, with increased use of chemicals and also healthy. In Brazil, the field of Nutrition and food processing, long supply chains, standardiza- even other areas of knowledge have not explored tion of food habits and with a great interference this type of approach yet and barely addresses of the international trade in the domestic food matters related to the agri-food model and its in- supply. Its influences do not only concern food fluence on Brazilian people’s diets and vice versa. and nutrition issues, but also environmental and Given the importance of this theme and the social consequences, such as the marginalization need to bring the discussion of sustainable diets of a large numbers of family farmers and the un- to Brazil (so that the academy can subsidize pol- sustainable use of natural resources2,3. icies and actions that meet the problems men- According to the Sustainable Development tioned above), this article proposes, based on ex- Indicators4 by IBGE, Brazil is among the ten isting literature: i) to discuss the emergence and largest emitters of greenhouse gases to the atmo- construction of the definition of sustainable di- sphere and have other problems like: the destruc- ets; ii) to provide the current panorama of what tion of natural vegetation, especially the Amazon has been studied on this topic worldwide and iii) deforestation and burning in the Cerrado; the de- to point out a new research agenda in Brazil. forested area accounts for almost 20% of the orig- inal Amazon forest area; lack of basic sanitation remains a serious socio-environmental problem, Methodology also causing alarming rates of contamination of rivers by household and industrial effluents; and This research is characterized as an integrative the number of Brazilian species threatened with literature review. This type of review enables extinction has been increasing, which demon- analyses that extrapolate the synthesis of the re- strates the destruction of natural areas. sults of the primary studies, covering other di- 1835 Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 26(5):1833-1846, 2021 26(5):1833-1846, Coletiva, & Saúde Ciência mensions of the research, and has potential for Pubmed, 72 in Bireme. With the snowball meth- the development of new theories and research od another 124 records were found. The total was problems10. It was composed of six phases in the 2790 materials, but of these, 809 were duplicates elaboration process: elaboration of the guiding and 1616 were excluded after screening by ex- question (what are sustainable diets and what clusion criteria. The final number of 365 arti- has been studied about it?), literature search, cles was obtained, written mainly after 2010, as data collection, critical analysis of studies and Graphic 1 shows. enclosed documents, discussion of data and pre- These 365 articles were mostly developed by sentation of the integrative review. European researchers, especially in the United Based on the guiding question, criteria for Kingdom (77 articles) which, together with the the selection of studies and search strategy were Atlantic countries of Northern Europe, is the defined. The searches were carried out in the Sci- region that has most published research on sus- ence Direct, Medline/ Pubmed, Periódicos Capes, tainable diets (Graphic 2). The region with the and