Experts believe that nations could benefit from blue foods, which come from the ocean or freshwater settings, through careful implementation of policies that use this diet to solve nutritional deficits, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance resilience amid the worsening climate change.
The Blue Food Assessment team, a worldwide partnership of scientists focusing on the importance of aquatic foods in global food systems, insists on these benefits.
Foods From the Ocean and Freshwater Environments Reduce Nutritional Deficits, Decrease Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Benefits of Blue Foods Remain Underappreciated
In the study, titled "Four Ways Blue Foods Can Help Achieve Food System Ambitions Across Nations" published in the journal Nature, researchers detailed the global-scale benefits of increasing blue food consumption.
Ben Halpern, a marine ecologist from UC Santa Barbara and a member of the team, explained the potential for blue foods to benefit people and the environment remains underappreciated even though humans widely rely on and enjoy them.
Science Daily reports that through their study, they hope to shed light on the possibilities and transformative benefits of this diet for people's lives and environments.
The study is based on the landmark Blue Food Assessment, which synthesizes the assessment's results and applies them to four policy objectives relating to nutrition, health, the environment, and livelihoods.
The research team states that aquatic foods are rich in several vital nutrients, including vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids, deficits of which are very common internationally, especially in African and South American nations.
Increased consumption of blue foods among vulnerable groups, such as small children and the elderly, pregnant women, and women of reproductive age in those areas, may reduce malnutrition, especially
Meanwhile, the affluent, industrialized countries of North America and Europe have a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease, a condition related to excessive red meat eating. The study showed that the risk of cardiovascular disease could be reduced through the consumption of more freshwater or marine seafood eating in the region in substitute of some red and processed meat.
More blue food can also lead to a more ecologically friendly and long-lasting food system. A shift toward more blue foods might reduce the environmental impact of raising terrestrial animals, like cows, sheep, and goats, because aquatic food production has lesser environmental impacts than terrestrial meat production.
READ ALSO: Study Finds Americans Don't Eat Adequate Fish, Missing Out on Health Benefits They Need
Blue Foods Policies Needed
Researchers said in a press release that aquaculture, mariculture, and fishing, when properly developed, provide job possibilities and may safeguard the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people globally.
Countries might reap many benefits from blue food policies that reduce barriers to production and access, resulting in healthier people and a more sustainable food system, as well as a better ability to adapt to changing environmental circumstances. Yet, not all nations will profit equally.
Professor Beatrice Crona from Stockholm University's Stockholm Resilience Center and the co-chair of Blue Food Assessment said that blue foods can play an important role in humans' diets, societies, and economies. Although, the effects will greatly vary from one country and local setting.
The association's goal is to make policymakers fully understand the diverse contributions of blue foods and for them to consider the trade-off that might come with the benefits of such a diet. Due to that, they offer an online tool where users can see the importance of policy objectives around the world.
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