Mediterranean Diet - A Living Heritage, Unleashing One Health (video message)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

• Good nutrition is critical for health and well-being.
• It promotes health, growth and cognitive development of individuals.
• However, malnutrition remains a burden in all countries globally.
• Malnutrition takes many forms: stunting and wasting in young children, deficiency of key vitamins and minerals, and overweight and obesity.
• Addressing malnutrition by promoting healthy diets is both an ethical and a developmental imperative.
• Healthy diets - those that are adequate in nutrients and balanced in energy - prevent all forms of malnutrition.
• While these principles are universal - based on human biology - dietary patterns are unique to context and have evolved based on local food production, preferences, culture and traditions.
• Many traditional dietary patterns are deeply rooted in specific cultural and social contexts and are linked to national identity and cultural heritage.
• Some - including the Mediterranean diet, have proven health benefits.
• The Mediterranean diet, in particular, has been shown to reduce mortality, lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of diabetes and some forms of cancer, and aid in body weight maintenance.
• The benefits of the Mediterranean diet may also extend to the environment, including lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduced use of land, water and energy.
• In many contexts however, traditional dietary patterns are eroding, driven by many factors such as urbanization, globalization of markets, and changing consumer preferences.
• This shift is particularly alarming amongst the youth.
• There is much to do to preserve traditional diets in their appropriate context.
• FAO, with the support of Italy, is developing a Mediterranean Diet Observatory called Sabir.
• Sabir will be an online platform to learn about the Mediterranean diet, including evidence on nutrition, environment and community impacts, good practices, recipes, and many other initiatives.
• The aim of Sabir is to mobilize this knowledge to promote action that can enable healthy diets for all.
• The Sabir Med Diet Observatory will be launched in the first quarter of 2025, and we look forward to engaging with you and many to support the preservation of the Mediterranean Diet for the health and well-being of individuals and communities, now and into the future.

I thank you and wish you well in the discussions and deliberations.