View article

The urgent and necessary shift towards more sustainable diets requires a substantial change in dietary norms, from meat-centric towards favouring plant-based. Food-based dietary guidelines are well placed to create and represent norms for a sustainable diet. However, little is known about what guidelines portray in terms of norms around meat and dairy consumption, and how people interpret these guidelines.

We conducted a rapid review of dietary guidelines (n= 71), looking at recommendations for meat and dairy in the context of sustainability. 11 countries mentioned sustainability considerations for diet, of which 6 recommended reducing meat intake for sustainability, and 2 reducing dairy intake for sustainability. Within food guides, the proportion of dairy images compared to other foods was higher than images of meat. Guidelines with recommendations to reduce meat and dairy, and information about …