UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s COVID-19 Guidelines Puts An Emphasis On Plant-Based Foods

With COVID-19 impacting every continent but Antarctica, it’s safe to say that we’re all feeling a bit panicked and unsure of how to best protect ourselves. However, today the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released important guidelines on maintaining a healthy diet during the pandemic.

While social distancing and practicing good hygiene like handwashing is important, the FAO recommends good nutrition before, during, and after an infection. To maintain a healthy diet, the new guidelines call for eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and healthy plant-based fats that are low in saturated acids.

However, the FAO’s recommendations call for eating less foods high in saturated fats. This would include beef, pork, and most dairy products. So a reduction in meat and dairy can help you maintain a healthy diet during these uncertain times.

If there was ever a time to reduce your meat consumption, let it be now.

So while you’re home binge-watching TV and are unsure what to cook, try planning a few plant-based meals. It could very well just help boost your immune system and keep you healthy.

Not only is reducing your meat consumption better for your health, but it helps protect farmed animals. Of the more than 70 billion animals farmed annually, 50 billion of them spend their lives on factory farms. They are treated more like machines than living, breathing, feeling animals. They endure short, miserable lives and are often confined together in cages, crates, or pens, which prevents them from engaging in natural behavior.

What’s more, factory farms are hotbeds of bacteria—to combat this, the meat industry is infamous for its overuse of antibiotics. In turn, this has led to the rise of drug-resistant bacteria, which poses an existential threat to mankind. By reducing the demand for meat, World Animal Protection expects that factory farming will be phased out. As overall meat demand declines, a shift towards family farming and practices that are more sustainable and kinder to animals will replace low welfare practices.

Fortunately, there is a growing movement of people who are committed to reducing their meat consumption that’s already underway. A report by Renub Research predicts the global plant-based meat market to be worth more than $7 billion by the end of 2025.

So take it from the experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization and eat more plant-based foods during this COVID-19 pandemic to keep yourself healthy. In doing so, you’ll also be helping to improve the lives of animals at factory farms. Pledge to #EatLessMeat today!