CIHEAM Press Review

There are no complicated rules. With some basic knowledge and the right pantry ingredients newcomers can master the world’s healthiest eating pattern.

Today, the countries and populations of the Mediterranean are facing unprecedented and interdependent challenges, due to the knock-on effects of conflicts, climatic emergencies and demographic pressures. As a result of changing eating habits, countries are also increasingly affected by problems of obesity and diet-related non-transmissible diseases. At the same time, climate change is affecting the Mediterranean region much more than the rest of the world on average, leading to competing demands for land, water and energy sources, in a region already deeply shaken by the decline in natural resources.

According to the “100 million health” survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2018, nearly 40 percent of Egyptian adults suffer from obesity: the highest rate in the Arab World, and one of the highest globally. Official responses to the issue largely adopted an accusatory tone, attributing Egypt’s obesity epidemic to poor lifestyle choices, gluttony, or laziness.

Each day all year round we can do our part reducing our carbon footprints. That also applies to the food choices we make on a regular basis.
“The foods societies produce and eat today have a climatic ripple effect that extends far into the future,” stresses Mario Herrero, a professor of sustainable food systems and global change at Cornell University. “It’s imperative that we reimagine how food is produced if we are to stave off the worst impacts of global climate change.”

Join Kids In Nutrition in nurturing healthy kids with education. Learn about their grassroots mission to promote sustainability and well-being.

Hot-weather cherries, drought-resistant melons and six other crops in the works that could change how we eat in a fast-warming world.