Objective: To present and discuss the dietary guidelines issued by the Brazilian government in 2014.Design: The present paper describes the aims of the guidelines, their shaping principles and the approach used in the development of recommendations. The main recommendations are outlined, their significance for the cultural, socio-economic and environmental aspects of sustainability is discussed, and their application to other countries is considered.Setting: Brazil in the twenty-first century.Subjects: All people in Brazil, now and in future.Results: The food- and meal-based Brazilian Dietary Guidelines address dietary patterns as a whole and so are different from nutrient-based guidelines, even those with some recommendations on specific foods or food groups. The guidelines are based on explicit principles. They take mental and emotional well-being into account, as well as physical health and disease prevention. They identify diet as having cultural, socio-economic and environmental as well as biological and behavioural dimensions. They emphasize the benefits of dietary patterns based on a variety of natural or minimally processed foods, mostly plants, and freshly prepared meals eaten in company, for health, well-being and all relevant aspects of sustainability, as well as the multiple negative effects of ready-to-consume ultra-processed food and drink products.Conclusions: The guidelines’ recommendations are designed to be sustainable personally, culturally, socially, economically and environmentally, and thus fit to face this century. They are for foods, meals and dietary patterns of types that are already established in Brazil, which can be adapted to suit the climate, terrain and customs of all countries.

The consumption of ultra-processed foods has increased worldwide and has been related to the occurrence of obesity and other non-communicable diseases. However, little is known about the environmental effects of ultra-processed foods. We aimed to assess the temporal trends in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), water footprint, and ecological footprint of food purchases in Brazilian metropolitan areas, and how these are affected by the amount of food processing. In this time-series study, we used data from five Brazilian Household Budget Surveys (1987-88, 1995-96, 2002-03, 2008-09, 2017-18) to calculate GHGE, water footprint, and ecological footprint per 1000 kcal of food and beverages purchased. Food items were classified into NOVA food groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods (G1); processed culinary ingredients (G2); processed foods (G3); and ultra-processed foods (G4). We calculated the proportion each NOVA food group contributes to daily kcal per person. Linear regression was performed to evaluate trends of the environmental impacts across the years. Between 1987-88 and 2017-18, diet-related GHGE increased by 21% (from 1538·6 g CO₂ equivalent [CO₂e] per 1000 kcal [95% CI 1473·3-1604·0] to 1866·0 g CO₂e per 1000 kcal [1788·0-1944·0]; p_trend<0·0001), diet-related water footprint increased by 22% (from 1447·2 L/1000 kcal [95% CI 1400·7-1493·8] to 1769·1 L/1000 kcal [1714·5-1823·7]; p_trend<0·0001), and diet-related ecological footprint increased by 17% (from 9·69 m²/1000 kcal [95% CI 9·33-10·05] to 11·36 m²/1000 kcal [10·91-11·81]; p_trend<0·0001). We found that the change in the environmental indicators over time varied between NOVA food groups. We did not find evidence of a change in the environmental indicators for G1 foods over time. GHGE from G2 foods decreased by 18% (p_trend<0·0001), whereas GHGE from G4 foods increased by 245% (p_trend<0·0001). The water footprint from G2 foods decreased by 17% (p_trend<0·0001) whereas the water footprint from G4 foods increased by 233% (p_trend<0·0001). The ecological footprint from G2 foods decreased by 13% (p_trend<0·0001), whereas the ecological footprint from G3 foods increased by 49% (p_trend<0·0001) and from G4 foods increased by 183% (p_trend<0·0001). We found no significant change in contribution by any other NOVA food groups to any of the three environmental indicators over the study period. The environmental effects of the Brazilian diet have increased over the past three decades along with increased effects from ultra-processed foods. This means that dietary patterns in Brazil are becoming potentially more harmful to human and planetary health. Therefore, a shift in the current trend would be needed to enhance sustainable healthy food systems. Science and Technologies Facilities Council-Global Challenges Research Fund.

In this paper, we discuss the use of natural language processing and artificial intelligence to analyze nutritional and sustainability aspects of recipes and food. We present the state-of-the-art and some use cases, followed by a discussion of challenges. Our perspective on addressing these is that while they typically have a technical nature, they nevertheless require an interdisciplinary approach combining natural language processing and artificial intelligence with expert domain knowledge to create practical tools and comprehensive analysis for the food domain.

Purpose: The current pilot study explored food insecurity, food waste, food related behaviours and cooking confidence of UK consumers following the COVID-19 lockdown.Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 473 UK-based consumers (63% female) in March 2020. A cross-sectional online survey measured variables including food insecurity prevalence, self-reported food waste, food management behaviours, confidence and frequency of use of a range of cooking methods, type of food eaten (ultra-processed, semi-finished, unprocessed) and packaging type foods are purchased in.Findings: 39% of participants have experienced some food insecurity in the last 12 months. Being younger, having a greater BMI and living in a smaller household were associated with food insecurity. Green leaves, carrots, potatoes and sliced bread are the most wasted of purchased foods. Polenta, green leaves and white rice are the most wasted cooked foods. Food secure participants reported wasting a smaller percentage of purchased and cooked foods compared to food insecure participants. Overall, participants were most confident about boiling, microwaving and stir-frying and least confident with using a pressure cooker or sous vide. Food secure participants were more confident with boiling, stir-frying, grilling and roasting than insecure food participants.Practical implications: This has implications for post lockdown policy, including food policies and guidance for public-facing communications.Originality/value: We identified novel differences in self-report food waste behaviours and cooking confidence between the food secure and insecure consumers and observed demographics associated with food insecurity.