1 September 2021 marks the start of the BDA’s second annual Sustainable September campaign. Across the month we will be exploring why dietitians are best placed to lead the way in sustainable diets and eating, as well as sharing examples of innovation in practice.
Stela Chervenkova, Vice Chair of the BDA’s Sustainable Diets Specialist Group, talks about what we’ll be sharing and why dietitians are so vital to this work.
Climate change has touched every aspect of most people’s lives and it is becoming a more and more pressing issue for everyone to act on. We know that food production, distribution, delivery and waste have a high environmental cost:
- 20-30% of greenhouse gas emissions
- The leading cause of deforestation and biodiversity loss
- Pollutes soils and water; and accounts for 70% of all human water use
The need to shift to more sustainable diets and food systems is increasingly evident but certainly not simple to achieve. Members of the Sustainable Diets Specialist Group recognise the importance of human health and its interdependency on the state of the planet, which is so reliant on changes to sustainable eating and food systems.
Dietitians are at the forefront of shaping public healthy eating policies and providing dietary advice. We, as health professionals, interact with vast numbers of people from different socio-economic and clinical backgrounds. We are highly trained in critically appraising scientific evidence and individualising it into practical advice to improve people’s lives, recognising that diets can be environmentally sustainable, healthy and affordable.
Increasing awareness
The Sustainable Diets Specialist Group has been working with the BDA over the last year and a half in pushing the agenda towards increasing other dietitians’ awareness of sustainability in relation to nutrition. You may already be aware of some of the great work that’s already been done around sustainable eating, but if you haven’t, the resources and materials shared below are a good starting point.
We’re hoping Sustainable September will be an exciting opportunity for every dietitian to get involved and learn more about how they can make their practice more sustainable. We are thrilled to be bringing you a month jam-packed full of educational and engaging content surrounding environmental and sustainability focused topics. The BDA will be providing large variety of content across all channels, ranging from educational blogs, resources and a sustainable cooking demo.
There’s no time like the present to get involved and learn how you can support sustainability in your dietetic speciality. We also welcome you in all the sustainable eating conversations and activities on social media during this month. Find us @BDA_Sustainable and @bda_dietitians on Twitter and @bda_sustainablediets on Instagram.
