The Med Diet 4.0 Framework: A Multidimensional Driver for Revitalising the Mediterranean Diet as a Sustainable Diet Model

Abstract

Abstract Despite being acknowledged as one of the healthiest diets in the world, there has been a shift away from the Mediterranean Diet (MD) pattern observed recently in the Mediterranean countries. This has undesirable consequences for health, but also for social, cultural, economic and environmental domains in the Mediterranean area. The Med Diet 4.0 framework, which is the focus of this case, has been developed as a multidimensional framework to revitalise the MD and to characterise it as a sustainable diet model. It offers four interdependent sustainable benefits, with country-specific variations: (i) nutrition and health advantages; (ii) low environmental impacts and richness in biodiversity; (iii) positive local economic returns; and (iv) high social and cultural food values. All these elements interact and contribute to the holistic well-being of individuals and communities, but Med Diet 4.0 has a broader scope. This is to catalyse multi-stakeholder interest in the MD as a driver towards more sustainable food systems; reconnecting diets, food consumption, food production, food security and sustainability in the region. At the level of the globalised food system, the Med Diet 4.0 model can, therefore, supply useful insights and action points to tackle the challenging policy issue of balancing human and planetary health. Food selection is influenced by exchange, use, and identity values, as well as images, memories, and emotions of people and contexts. It is recommended that MD education programmes should take these values into account and target all age groups with personalised messages. Information © CAB International 2019