The Danish food sector focuses on three basic dimensions of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental. The framework for the creation of sustainable development should incorporate all the dimensions and aim at establishing positive bottom lines for all three dimensions of sustainable development. Diet also plays a role in sustainability. At the Danish Agriculture and Food Council, we are committed to the FAO’s definition. The FAO’s 2010 report, Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity, defines sustainable diet in the following way:
"Sustainable Diets are those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable; nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; while optimizing natural and human resources."
Sustainable diets thus focus on four main areas:
- They contain the nutrients that humans need
- They are protective of eco-systems
- They are accessible at an affordable price
- They are also culturally acceptable