The new Chinese dietary guidelines – what do they really say on meat consumption and sustainability?

In the campaign, a video states that the Chinese Nutrition Society recommends Chinese consumers to reduce meat consumption by 50% with the potential of cutting China’s emissions by 9% or global agriculture emissions by 22% from one simple action. However, this has also generated some confusion as the 2016 guidelines recommends between 40-75g/day of meat consumption compared to 2007 version, which recommends 50-75g of meat/day. This only accounts to a minimum amount reduction of 10g, far from the 50% reduction of meat consumption stated by Less Meat Less Heat campaign. This is because the Less Meat Less Heat video actually refers to 50% reduction in current meat consumption levels. Currently, China consumes 63kg per person per year and a daily recommendation of 40-75g a day would mean a maximum consumption of 27.5kg a year, roughly half of current level. One thing to note is that nowhere in the new guidelines does it state current meat consumption levels, which means it does not explicitly recommend consumers to reduce their intake. Rather, it just outlines the daily recommended amount. It is fair to say that most consumers would have no awareness of how much meat they are consuming or if it is over or under current recommended levels. If the previous guidelines (2007) were not followed, how will the current version be any different?

Although CNS does not look at how diets affect GHG emissions directly, the new guidelines do support environmental sustainability in a few other recommendations.

1. It strongly advises the selection of fish, poultry and eggs as a source of protein over red meats. Smoked and cured meats are to be avoided altogether.
2. It emphasizes seasonal vegetables and fruits, which are more likely to be grown locally.
3. It discourages food waste as one of its core recommendations, because “frugality is a virtue in Chinese culture”. It recommends “individuals, families, schools and the whole society to reduce food waste and adapt healthy eating culture and behaviour”; and
4. An emphasis has been placed on greater tuber consumption because (i) tubers are versatile staples to address food and nutrition security that produce more food per unit area of land, and which use significantly less water compared to rice; and (ii) they are cheap but nutritionally rich staple food, an important factor for a nation with 150 million children still undernourished.

In my opinion, what is of greater importance is how the new guidelines translate on to the plate. The key challenge for CNS is how to educate 1.4 billion people by translating these new guidelines into every mouthful. How do we use the new guidelines and communicate it in an effective manner in order to bring awareness and change behaviour. This is what my organisation JUCCCE is currently working on and hope to build upon with our work with CNS. CNS is doing a great job by engaging Hollywood personalities and Chinese stars to promote their messages as well as engaging corporates such as Pepsico and Nestle to provide healthy meals and promote nutrition education in children across China.

Below are some further details on the dietary guidelines and the campaign to promote them: 

Chinese celebrities promoting Nutrition Week in conjunction with CNS

Dietary Guidelines for the Generation Population

There are two editions for the Dietary Guidelines (2016), one for educators (350 pages) and the other for general distribution (140 pages). Those who are in the teaching profession are encouraged to relate their experience and knowledge to aid consumers in integrating the guidelines into their lives. CNS welcomes the participation of nutrition professionals in helping consumers understand the new guidelines in order to pave the way towards promoting healthy eating and wellbeing in the Chinese population

Core recommendations:

• Eat a variety of foods, cereal based
• Be active to maintain a healthy body weight
• Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, dairy products and soybeans
• Eat moderate amounts of fish, poultry, eggs and lean meats
• Limit salt, cooking oil, added sugar and alcohol
• Develop healthy eating habits, avoid food waste

Figures of balanced dietary pattern: A total of 3 figures were developed to further illustrate and understand the core recommendations and balanced dietary pattern of the Dietary Guideline (2016).

Food Guide Pagoda

This is the main figure for the core recommendations whilst the Chinese Food Guide Plate and Food Guide Abacus are supporting figures. This serves as a general visual representation of an ideal, balanced diet for an adult, illustrating both the amount and varieties of food that should be consumed in one day. It also emphasizes the importance of moderate exercise and daily hydration.

Food Guide Plate

The Food Guide Plate is based on the principles of a balanced diet. It is a visual demonstration of food proportions represented for a person’s meal. Vegetables account for 34-36%, followed by cereals and tubers 26-28%, fruits 20-25% and proteins 13-17%. It also recommends drinking a glass of milk equivalent to 300g.

The Food Guide Abacus

Supporting figure for the pagoda specifically designed for children, recommended for kids ages 8–11 years old. Compared to the pagoda, fruit and vegetables are in separate categories where each row is a different food group and the abacus beads represent the portions recommended. The colorful visual is meant to attract the interest of children and aid in memorization.

Dietary Guidelines for Specific Populations

1. Women who are trying to get pregnant
2. Pregnant women
3. Lactating women
4. Infants ages 0-6 months
5. Infants aged 7-24 months
6. Preschoolers 2-6 years old
7. Children and adolescents 6-18 years old
8. The elderly 65 years old and above
9. Vegetarians

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