From the Environmental Working Group: Good Food on a Tight Budget

Should dietary guidance advice encompass environmental issues?

The federal government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans document does address some issues beyond just diet, including both physical activity and food safety.  For a number of reasons, environmental issues are not yet included.

But several interesting efforts have gone further.

A classic source is the 1986 article "Dietary Guidelines for Sustainability," by Joan Dye Gussow and Kate Clancy (may be gated).

One more recent resource, which incorporates environmental issues into a dietary guidance graphic akin to MyPyramid or MyPlate is the Barilla Double Pyramid: "Good for you, sustainable for the planet."

Another resource, from Fall 2012, is the "Good Food on a Tight Budget" guidance from the Environmental Working Group.  In this video, EWG's Dawn Undurraga -- a Friedman School alum and former U.S. food policy student -- explains how the guide combines both diet and nutrition issues.

The most droll line in the video comes from a chef, who said (unless I misheard it!): "Income is not consistent with my life right now."