In latest a long time, consuming habits have modified drastically in the direction of the consumption of ultra-processed meals and drinks (UPFD). The general contribution of UPFDs to nutrient consumption far exceeds 50 % in lots of Euro-Mediterranean international locations and has been proven to be related to dangerous results, not just for our well being, but in addition for our ecosystem.
“To interrupt this vicious circle, we urgently want to alter our consuming habits and, together with bodily and social actions, discover an lively, wholesome and sustainable way of life, sustainable for us as human beings and sustainable for the environment.”
Dr AS Achraf Ammar from Johannes Gutenberg College Mainz (JGU)
The PRIMA EU MEDIET4ALL venture has been launched with the goal of selling a wholesome Mediterranean way of life. Beneath the route of Dr. Achraf Ammar, with the assist of Professor Wolfgang Schöllhorn, Professor Juliane Heydenreich and Professor Christiana Schallhorn, JGU coordinates the venture, which includes ten companions from eight international locations, particularly international locations within the Mediterranean area. The consortium has a funds of two.four million euros. The venture was began at a kick-off assembly in Mainz in July 2023.
Typical Mediterranean meals for use to handle the consequences of unhealthy diets
These drastic adjustments in consuming habits in the direction of extra industrialized consuming patterns, similar to takeaways and UPFDs, are primarily as a consequence of fashionable social developments and the emergence of world industrial meals methods and enormous transnational companies providing handy, extremely tasty merchandise. , engaging and simple to devour. Meals for consumption promoted via intensive advertising. “This alarming world development in UPFD consumption and the resultant adversarial results on the inhabitants and ecosystem spotlight the pressing have to take measures to handle these fast adverse adjustments and look at their adverse impacts,” highlighted Dr. Achraf Ammar, researcher on the Institute. JGU. of Sports activities Sciences. “The MEDIET4ALL venture will deliver collectively wholesome and inexperienced views, multidisciplinary skilled data and good applied sciences to assist the transition from an UPFD tradition to unprocessed or minimally processed meals,” Ammar added.
The cooperation companions base their research on the so-called Mediterranean food plan (MEDIET). Scientific research have proven that this type of food plan is essentially the most evidence-based dietary sample on the planet to advertise well being and longevity whereas saving the ecosystem. Curiously, MEDIET can also be recognized as the simplest to comply with amongst low-processed consuming patterns. Within the kitchen, precedence is given to fruits, greens, complete grain merchandise and olive oil, complemented by fish and only a few dairy merchandise and meat. With the assistance of a examine based mostly on multilingual digital surveys, the analysis companions initially attempt to perceive the habits of Euro-Mediterranean shoppers and establish their adherence to this MED food plan and its figuring out components. They may then design and check a number of personalised applications to assist adherence to a wholesome Mediterranean way of life that features not solely dietary suggestions, but in addition bodily and social actions. “Bodily exercise is totally essential. However train alone, with out sufficient vitamin and social inclusion, will not be ample for an lively and wholesome way of life. The interplay of those components is highlighted within the fashionable MEDIET pyramid and constitutes , together with different components, the premise of our venture,” stated Ammar.
Cooperation between EU and North African companions
The MEDIET4ALL venture covers many interdisciplinary fields, a number of essential goals and various analysis backgrounds of these concerned, from the area of meals science, course of engineering, dietary science and dietetics to sports activities sciences, pc science, digital well being sciences and packaging. know-how. The tutorial companions of the venture embrace the College of Burgundy in France, the College of Valencia in Spain, the College of Palermo in Italy, the College of Sfax in Tunisia, the Nationwide College of Agriculture of Meknès and the School of Drugs and Pharmacy from Rabat. in Morocco and the College of Boumerdes in Algeria. Non-academic companions embrace agri-food innovation group Vitagora in France and social enterprise and coaching institute Microtarians in Luxembourg.
“Our problem is to create a transnational motion to advertise MEDIET tradition and thus assist the transition to wholesome minimally processed meals,” stated Ammar. To this finish, the MEDIET4ALL venture will mix scientific and promotional actions to concurrently promote the comfort, attractiveness and competitiveness of MED meals, whereas elevating consciousness concerning the adversarial results of ultra-processed meals in comparison with the final advantages of MEDIET. To this finish, varied merchandise and actions shall be programmed, together with the holding of cooking courses, the creation of digital software kits and collaborative video games, the group of consciousness and motivation campaigns, the event and testing of extremely nutritious fashionable recipes with their ecological biopackaging, creating an integrative platform area for consumer-producer contact, and creating and testing the MEDIET4ALL software that may act as a sensible way of life coach.
Generally, venture companions transcend purely well being features. The Mediterranean food plan additionally helps save water and power, cut back greenhouse gases and protect soils. Subsequently, the venture is a part of the Farm to Fork technique of the European Inexperienced Deal, with which the EU needs to attain local weather neutrality by 2050.
The EU PRIMA program promotes new tasks within the Mediterranean area
MEDIET4ALL – A transnational motion to assist the sustainable transition in the direction of a wholesome and ecological agri-food system via the promotion of MEDIET and its way of life in fashionable society – is supported by the European PRIMA program “Partnership for Analysis and Innovation within the Mediterranean Space”. PRIMA helps new analysis approaches and improvements within the Mediterranean area to enhance water availability and sustainable agriculture in areas severely affected by local weather change, urbanization and inhabitants development.
With the schools of Mainz, Bourgogne, Palermo and València, the MEDIET4ALL venture brings collectively 4 companions of the FORTHEM European College Alliance to collaborate on this area of analysis.
Of a complete of two.four million euros in funding, the German Federal Ministry of Schooling and Analysis (BMBF) helps the Johannes Gutenberg College in Mainz on this venture with round 510,000 euros.
Fountain:
Johannes Gutenberg College Mainz (JGU)