Towards healthy and sustainable diets: understanding food consumption trends in the EU

The assessment of food system sustainability requires a profound understanding of the evolution of food production and consumption. Monitoring the transition towards healthier and sustainable diets is crucial for supporting future interventions. This study explores market sales data to investigate and compare current dietary trends in the European Union Member States over 14 years, with a focus on their implications for environmental sustainability and health. By analysing consumption trends of major food product categories, including animal-based and plant-based foods, we identify two distinct clusters of countries with diverging dietary patterns. Our results show that countries reducing consumption of animal-based foods also exhibit a reduction in consumption of discretionary products, such as alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, highlighting opportunities for synergies between environmental and health policies. This research provides valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders aiming to promote the uptake of healthy and sustainable diets and informs the development of targeted strategies to support the transition towards more environmentally friendly and healthy food systems.

BIGANZOLI Fabrizio;  PATINHA CALDEIRA Carla;  DIAS Joana;  DE LAURENTIIS Valeria;  LEITE Joao;  WOLLGAST Jan;  SALA Serenella; 

2026-01-09

MDPI

JRC142245

2304-8158 (online),   

https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/16/2798,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC142245,   

10.3390/foods14162798 (online),