Many people often intuitively equate “healthy” with being “sustainable”. A study by researchers at the University of Konstanz, the Johannes Kepler University Linz and the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences showed that many consumers automatically believed that healthy food was also sustainable.

However, there was no association between this perception and the overlap between environmental sustainability and how healthy a meal is. This is because healthier foods can be produced using less eco-friendly methods, and the reverse is also true: sustainable food can be less healthy.

The findings indicate that consumers need better and more readily accessible information about the sustainability and healthiness of foods. One useful approach is to use sustainability labels on food, as suggested by the Scientific Advisory Board on Agricultural Policy, Food and Consumer Health Protection (WBAE) of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Such labels would enable consumers to make more informed decisions about what they eat while simultaneously doing their part to protect the environment.