Guest Blog by Alice Jefferis, BSc (Hons) Nutrition Student at Cardiff Metropolitan University and Action on Sugar Volunteer 

With the ‘nutrition transition’ – the shift towards high fat, sugar and salt foods (often with little nutritional value) due to globalization[1] – has come not only an increase in nutrition related non-communicable disease, but a global environmental crisis.

The EAT-Lancet refers to the relationship between human and planetary health as being symbiotic[2] , so looking after our health and our planet must come hand in hand.

What do we know about sugar and health?

We know that excess sugar consumption is linked to a higher incidence type two diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and dental caries; current SACN guidance is that no more than 5% of total daily energy should come from free sugars [3]. This is an estimate of <19g for 4-6 year olds, <24g for 7-10 year olds and <30g per day for 11 years and over. For reference, a 48g snickers bar has around 21g of free sugar.

How is our sugary snack obsession impacting the environment?

Well, put down your pop tart and brace yourself. Up to 40% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) are thought be linked to our food systems[4]. The first image you might conjure is one of cows belching out methane, because, well, that is what is highly publicized. But it is more complex than that, it comes down to the whole life cycle of a product ‘from farm to fork’. To manufacture a sugary snack, the sugar (resource) must be imported to a factory (+emissions) where it is processed (+emissions) with other imported (+emissions) ingredients (+resources), which then must be packaged (+resources/ +emissions), and then transported (+emissions) to your local supermarket.

Emissions aren’t the only problem, either. Land clearance, soil degradation, and heavy use of chemicals due to intensive farming can disrupt natural habitats. Agricultural run-off can find its way into nearby rivers or streams, consequently impacting other ecosystems. The processing required to go from sugar beet or cane, to raw sugar and then the refined sugar that we find in our foods or add to our tea requires energy and if not strictly regulated can be polluting[5]. Irrigation of the raw items that make up our snacks can also be water intensive; an average of 1700L water goes into 100g chocolate[6].

Plastic is an extremely common packaging material for our sugary snacks, but it is finding its way into our oceans and being either ingested by marine life as microplastics or causing entanglement; this is having a serious impact on both biodiversity as well as human health[7].

Whilst sugar production, along with other raw resources, can be an important source of income for many developing nations (this is another conversation!), the complex lifecycle of most snacks and sheer quantity of sugar used is placing pressure on the planet and our health.

So, next time you reach for your ‘share-size’ bag of M&M’s, stop and ask yourself:

• How far has this had to travel to get to me?
• How much processing did this take to manufacture?
• How is it packaged?
• Will this contribute to my health and wellbeing positively or negatively?

Hold yourself accountable – your body needs you to and so does the planet!

[1] DREWNOWSKI, A. & POPKIN, B. M. 1997. The nutrition transition: new trends in the global diet. Nutr Rev, 55, 31-43.

[2] WILLETT, W., ROCKSTRÖM, J. & LOKEN, B. 2019a. The EAT-Lancet Commission: a flawed approach? - Authors' reply. Lancet,394, 1141-1142, WILLETT, W., ROCKSTRÖM, J., LOKEN, B., SPRINGMANN, M., LANG, T., VERMEULEN, S., GARNETT, T., TILMAN, D., DECLERCK, F., WOOD, A., JONELL, M., CLARK, M., GORDON, L. J., FANZO, J., HAWKES, C., ZURAYK, R., RIVERA, J. A., DE VRIES, W., MAJELE SIBANDA, L., AFSHIN, A., CHAUDHARY, A., HERRERO, M., AGUSTINA, R., BRANCA, F., LARTEY, A., FAN, S., CRONA, B., FOX, E., BIGNET, V., TROELL, M., LINDAHL, T., SINGH, S., CORNELL, S. E., SRINATH REDDY, K., NARAIN, S., NISHTAR, S. & MURRAY, C. J. L. 2019b. Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT&#x2013;<em>Lancet</em> Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet, 393, 447-492.

[3]SACN. 2015. Why 5%? An explanation of SACN’s recommendations about sugars and health: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacns-sugars-and-health-recommendations-why-5 

[4] TUBIELLO, F. N., ROSENZWEIG, C., CONCHEDDA, G., KARL, K., GÜTSCHOW, J., XUEYAO, P., OBLI-LARYEA, G., WANNER, N., QIU, S. Y., BARROS, J. D., FLAMMINI, A., MENCOS-CONTRERAS, E., SOUZA, L., QUADRELLI, R., HEIÐARSDÓTTIR, H. H., BENOIT, P., HAYEK, M. & SANDALOW, D. 2021. Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems: building the evidence base. Environmental Research Letters, 16, 065007.

[5] WWF. 2005. Sugar and the Environment – Encouraging Better Management Practices in Sugar Production:https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?22255/Sugar-and-the-Environment-Encouraging-Better-Management-Practices-in-Sugar-Production-and-Processing

[6] https://waterfootprint.org/product-gallery/

[7] SANTOS DE MOURA, M. & VIANNA, M. 2020. A new threat: assessing the main interactions between marine fish and plastic debris from a scientometric perspective. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 30, 623-636.