ECCT Planet-Friendly Eating & Living Platform Lunch

Why the World Needs a New Diet
How plant-based food is good for the planet and your health

Featuring a tasty, planet-friendly menu prepared and introduced by the Hyatt's Michelin-starred chefs
Inaugural event of the ECCT's Planet-Friendly Eating & Living Platform

Guest speakers
Dr Lin Ming-nan, Vice Superintendent & Director of Family Medicine, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital & Chairman, Taiwan Vegetarian Nutrition Society
Dr Tina Chiu, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutritional Science, Fu Jen Catholic University

12:00 – 14:00, Monday, 3 June 2019
Venue: 2F, The Residence, Grand Hyatt Taipei, /台北君悅大飯店二樓凱寓
Address: 2 Song Shou Road, Xin Yi District, Taipei / 台北市信義區松壽路2號

This is the first event to be held under the ECCT’s new Planet-Friendly Eating & Living (PEL) Platform (see introduction to the PEL Platform below).

Conventional meat production is one of the biggest drivers of climate change, as well as being responsible for significant water usage and environmental pollution. Meanwhile, unhealthy diets lacking in plant-based nutrients are responsible for 11 million preventable deaths globally per year, which is more than smoking tobacco. At this event, our speakers will cite scientific research to show how switching to a plant-based diet would significantly reduce the environmental impact of humans on the planet while a whole-foods, plant-based diet would also help to maintain and promote human health. To match the theme of promoting the benefits of whole-foods plant-based diets, chefs at the Hyatt will prepare a tasty, healthy, planet-friendly meal of ingredients specially selected based on their nutritional value and their low environmental impact. This means that all ingredients will be plant-based, organic and, where possible, locally-sourced. The chefs will also introduce the dishes at the lunch.

Among other subjects our speakers will cover the following in their presentations:
• Climate change and international food trends
• The vegetarian diet from a health and evolutionary perspective and current evidence
• How a plant-based diet offers a solution to both health and environmental problems
• The nutritional adequacy of a vegan diet
• Business opportunities in a plant-based food future

A conservative estimate puts the global carbon emissions of the meat and dairy industry at over 14% of total emissions. Other estimates are as high as 50%. This is larger than the entire transport sector and second only to electricity generation. To put this in context, we could stop flying on planes and switch all our cars to electric tomorrow and this would have less impact than if we stopped consuming meat and dairy.

According to research published in The Lancet, a poor diet, defined as one high in sodium and low in whole grains and fruits, contributed to 11 million deaths globally in 2017, accounting for roughly one of every five deaths. The report noted that the biggest problem is not the junk we eat but the nutritious food we don’t eat. Researchers have therefore called for a global shift in policy to promote a plant-based diet rich in vegetables, fruit, nuts and legumes.

The world's population is expected to surge to 9.6 billion by 2050, leading to a 61% increase in food production. Consumption of meat globally has doubled in the past 20 years and, based on current trends, is expected to double again by 2050, accounting for an even larger proportion of emissions (given reductions by other sectors). This increasing demand begs the question of how society will sustainably feed future generations without destroying the planet in the process.

A UN IPCC Climate report has called on everyone to adopt a "flexitarian diet" and eat 30% less meat. However, other research says this does not go nearly far enough and suggests a much further reduction or elimination of meat and dairy in our diets. The Lancet medical journal published a study that calls for dramatic changes to food production and the human diet, in order to avoid "catastrophic damage to the planet". Just to meet current Paris Agreement goals, people in some countries of heavy meat-eaters would have to reduce consumption by up to 90%. To reverse the negative trends, more effort will be required to produce a greater variety of plant-based foods and to convince consumers to change their diets.

About the Planet-Friendly Eating & Living Platform (PEL) Platform
The mission of the PEL Platform is to help corporations and individuals make informed choices regarding their health and also the health of the planet by sharing information and raising awareness about nutrition, healthy lifestyles and choices and ways to mitigate the impact of human agricultural and food-related activities on the environment. The PEL Platform will actively promote planet-friendly diets, exercise and living habits that maintain and enhance the health of people and safeguard the environment by minimising the impact of humans and restoring ecological balance. Under the platform activities will be arranged that highlight innovative research, environmental, social and business trends and showcase the best solutions and practices for:
• Producing and distributing nutritious food that has the lowest possible impact on the environment;
• Enhancing physical and mental health and well-being by promoting healthy lifestyle choices;
• Promoting sustainable, planet-friendly consumption habits
The PEL Platform welcomes contributions and case sharing from corporations, government, social enterprises, foundations and other non-profit organisations. All activities are designed to attract the widest possible participation by all stakeholders and the general public.

About the Taiwan Vegetarian Nutrition Society
TWVNS is a non-profit organisation of medical professionals and academics established in 2009 with a mission to promote a plant-based diet in order to safeguard human health and the environment. The society has published a series of papers to demonstrate the beneficial effects of a plant-based diet in reducing chronic diseases. The society also works with other NGOs to promote low carbon food.

About the speakers
Dr Lin Ming-Nan is currently the Vice Superintendent and Director of Family Medicine at Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital in Chiayi County, Tzu Chi Medical Foundation. Besides an MD degree from National Taiwan University, he also has a master's degree in public health. He is an esteemed health educator, speaker, facilitator, TV host, scholar and assistant professor. As a renowned family medicine practitioner for more than 20 years, he is passionate about promoting a plant-based diet as the best choice for both enhancing health and protecting the environment who has inspired thousands in hospitals, government, schools and communities to promote well-being with a holistic approach. As the president of the Taiwan Vegetarian Nutrition Society and the chair of the Task Force on Health Promoting Hospitals & Environment (WHO-CC) of the International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services, he aspires to see hospitals achieve the goals of health and environmental protection. He has also devoted himself to community outreach and international disaster relief.

Dr Tina Chiu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Science at Fu Jen Catholic University. Her expertise and research interests focus on the role of a plant-based diet on health, disease prevention and environmental sustainability. She is the nutritional epidemiologist of one of the most important vegetarian cohort studies in Asia and in the world, the Tzu Chi Health Study, in which she investigated the impact of a vegetarian diet on diabetes, gout, gallstone diseases and other chronic diseases. Dr Chiu has served on the International Advisory Board and spoken at the 7th International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition (7ICVN) held at Loma Linda California in February 2018, and has collaborated with researchers from the EPIC-Oxford, the Adventist Health Study, and the Indian Migration Study on a review paper to update the current understanding of vegetarian diets. Dr Chiu received her BSc (Dietetics) from the University of British Columbia in Canada, MPH in Public Health Nutrition from Loma Linda University in the USA, and her PhD in Epidemiology from the National Taiwan University in Taiwan. She is a registered dietitian in both the USA and Taiwan.

NT$1,400 for members and NT$2,000 for members' guest(s)
*To cancel without penalty, written cancellations must be received 24 hours prior to the event.
Contact: Fiona Lee / Tel: 2740-0236 ext. 215 / fiona.lee@ecct.com.tw / www.ecct.com.tw