EMF members were delighted to take part in the EFAD (European Federation of the
Associations of Dietitians) Congress in Malmö themed
“Rethink. Reform. Sustain. Dietitians at the Forefront of Change.”
We hosted a Symposium on ‘The role of dairy foods in healthy, sustainable diets
in Europe – nutrition, environment and farming perspectives’ chaired by Pauline
Douglas (EFAD Honorary Treasurer and Dietetic Coordinator at Ulster University).
- Dr Anne Nugent, from Queen’s University Belfast spoke about ‘Balancing the
plate: nutritional adequacy in sustainable diets’ looking at the challenges
of striking the right balance between ‘nutrition’ and ‘environment’ in achieving
healthy, sustainable diets, and the considerable gap which exists between
current eating patterns and ones which are both healthy and sustainable. She
highlighted potential risks of missing out on important nutrients such as iodine,
and the big challenge for many in achieving the dietary changes needed.
- Dr Anders Herlin, Associate Professor, Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences, examined the ‘Environmental impact and sustainability
deliveries in dairy farming’. Dr Herlin pointed out that agriculture is a
complex multidimensional system, linking resources, land, crop, animals and
practices. The impact of dairy on the environment is sometimes
oversimplified focusing only on emissions but the reality is much more
complex and nuanced with positives of farming practices such as biodiversity
maintenance and soil health and resilience. The challenge is to totally capture
agriculture in calculations and models.
- Danish dairy farmer Hanne Line Skovgaard Revsbech gave her real life
experiences of Cows, community and carbon footprints’ describing what
happens on her dairy farm from implementing innovations and practical
measures to help improve sustainability, to her and her family’s passion for
farming to the place of her farm in the local community. On sustainability and
dairy farming, Line said “My most important task is to leave the farm and the
land to the next generation in good shape – like it was for my parents and the
ones before them”.
A big thank you to the speakers and to all those who attended the session and
contributed to the interesting and informative discussions.
Nutrition and Health Professionals can find out more here
