Very often when talking about plant-based diets there are many doubts and even fears dictated by a lack of knowledge but also by confusion generated by contradictory messages conveyed by the media and even some doctors.
However, more and more scientific societies, besides the Scientific Society of Vegetarian Nutrition, are affirming the importance of plant-based diets, for example, the National Congress of the Italian Society of Human Nutrition (SINU) was held in June, during which the fifth revision of the LARNs, the Reference Intake Levels of Nutrients and Energy for the Italian population, was presented.
This review, which involved 150 experts divided into working groups, is based on data collected from five major surveys. Prominent among them is the Moli-Sani project, which studied about 25,000 citizens of Molise to understand the genetic and environmental factors underlying cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Another major study is the INHES(Italian Nutrition & Health Survey), which involved 13,000 citizens aged 6 and older through telephone interviews, with the aim of analyzing eating habits and identifying new trends. Added to these is the OEC/HES, a survey by the Cardiovascular Epidemiological Observatory that assesses the health status of the Italian population.
The revision of LARNs was also based on the IV SCAI, a study conducted by CREA’s Food and Nutrition Research Center, part of the EU-Menu program, which collected data on Italians’ food consumption following the methodologies recommended by EFSA (European Food Safety Authority). This study provides useful data to assess not only energy and nutrients, but also exposure to chemicals and the environmental impact of diets, thus supporting the development of food policies and guidelines for the prevention of chronic diseases.
One of the main changes that has emerged is the move toward a more plant-based diet. As SINU points out in the press release, “This revision marks a real cultural evolution, emphasizing the inclusion of plant-based protein over animal-based protein in light of new evidence on mortality and sustainability of food production.”
During the same period, the German Nutrition Society (DGE) also updated its position on the vegan diet, recognizing it as a healthy choice for the healthy adult population. This represents a significant change from the past, including for groups such as children, young people, breastfeeding women, and the elderly. In the past, the DGE did not recommend an all-vegetarian diet for these groups, whereas now it no longer excludes it out of hand. DGE experts also recognize that a vegan diet is highly environmentally friendly and outperforms meat-rich diets in terms of environmental impact and animal welfare.
These updates, from leading scientific societies, signal an important change: criticisms of plant-based diets, often spread by mainstream media, no longer have a scientific basis.
Dr. Luciana Baroni, founder of the Scientific Society of Vegetarian Nutrition (SSNV), which has been promoting plant-based nutrition as the healthiest and most sustainable choice for many years, about the recent openness of the SINU toward plant-based nutrition, when interviewed by us, said:
“In fact, the SINU has been open to plant-based nutrition for about ten years already, when a working group on vegetarian nutrition was created, of which I was a member. This group produced two position papers (which you can find here and here) that helped expand the scientific basis that attributes a key role to plant-based nutrition in maintaining health. Since this evidence is irrefutable, it is time for the entire scientific community to recognize it and act accordingly. SINU is moving in this direction.”
With the REFOOD project, we focus on the importance of information based on solid scientific evidence, and we closely follow the statements of nutrition experts in the media, but it is still common to hear some of them demonize plant-based diets, or worse, observe that in canteens, including hospital canteens, plant-based food accounts for a very small proportion compared to animal-based food.
An equally serious problem is the attitude of institutions, which often promote the consumption of animal products while neglecting the importance of plant products, not infrequently demonizing them, with no real scientific support to justify this imbalance.
We at REFOOD are working to ensure that thanks to the abundance of scientific evidence, misinformation about plant-based nutrition will find less and less room, and that institutions and the entire scientific community will finally begin to rely exclusively on concrete and up-to-date scientific data.
