Understanding the evolution of our dietary behaviour to improve that of the future

«Within the space of just two generations, society
has swept away thousands of years' worth of
cultural evolution regarding the understanding
of vegetable and animal food resources»

Understanding the evolution
of our dietary behaviour
to improve that of the future

adapt? Over the next few pages, the Louis
Bonduelle Foundation invites you to revisit
the evolution of our dietary behaviour over
the ages, right up to an assessment of our
current consumption attitudes, leading us
to consider possible future developments.

n increase in the proportion of fats in our
diet, the spread of readyto-use products, the growth
in consumption outside the
home, the explosion in the
supermarket sector... Dietary practices have seen
major changes over recent
decades. Is this a new
phenomenon or has mankind become used to such
changes? What are the
determining factors associated with such changes?
And can we really look at
the past in order to consider our present and future
habits? The current context
pushes consumers to make
choices within a perspec-

A

www.fondation-louisbonduelle.org

tive which is both individual
and collective. We eat to fulpleasure and to preserve our
health, without considering
water resources, air quality,
stability... and all under the
constraints of demographic
pressure.
model, and yet… One route
that of sustainable dietary
ned in 2010 by the UN Food
and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO), which considers diet
in all its dimensions (health,
environment,
economy,
culture, etc.).

© DMITRIY MELNIKOV - FOTOLIA.COM

In the years ahead, the world will have to
answer a crucial question: how can we
feed 9 billion people? Acquiring sustainable
dietary practices, although constituting a
key element of the response, nonetheless
faces a major obstacle: it is humandependent. People are naturally resistant to
change, especially in terms of their habits,
when not constrained to do so by their
environment. Will environmental pressure

Sustainable evolution

of eating habits

History

Evolution of man’s diet

For over 7 million years, since our common ancestry
with chimpanzees up to the emergence of post-industrial
urban societies, mankind has acquired food by gathering, hunting or fishing and, over the past few thousand
years, through agriculture and animal husbandry. Nature,
therefore, was the main factor impacting the physiological regulation of nutritional requirements.
AN OMNIVOROUS DIET INHERITED
FROM OUR APE ANCESTORS
Man is omnivorous. Or more specifically, our diet is of
interest to our food in terms of its energy content and
sensory qualities, hence our penchant for fruit and meat.
But being omnivorous is not actually very widespread.
This characteristic, handed down through prehistory from
our ape ancestors, is somewhat rare amongst mammals.
«Being a generalist requires special skills in the quest
for resources, accessing foodstuffs, preparing them in
different ways and both ingesting and digesting them.
Being omnivorous must be learnt, which means that such
diets require complex social and cognitive adaptations»,
explains Pascal Picq, a paleoanthropologist at the Collège de France.
Choosing the right food comes from education and
imitation; a sense of taste does not always direct and
make it possible to avoid potentially poisonous foods. An
omnivorous diet is therefore embedded within a context
interwoven with the numerous interactions of various
physical and social environments, in which are played
out the concepts of pleasure, exchange and prohibition,
etc. In uncertain times, the choice of foodstuffs (fruit,
vegetables, roots and tubers, nuts, meat, eggs, honey,
flowers, insects, etc.) ensures survival during difficult periods such as in drought or food deserts. Acquiring such
a diet was achieved by mobilising cognitive, technical,
social and cultural abilities, opening up access to food
of high quality irrespective of the circumstances. This
required education about nature, its resources and its
production cycles, not forgetting food conservation and
preparation methods.
DIET SHAPED BY HISTORY…
Man’s diet has evolved under the influence of powerful
nutritional and economic determinisms, with strong similarities from one country to the next depending on the level
of economic development. »In the developed countries,
and now across most of the world, the agricultural revolution – supported and then supplanted by the industrial
revolution – has brought about a considerable reduction in the cost of dietary calories», stress the authors
of the ‘duALIne1’ discussion paper. The consequences

French history
lifestyle and diet
French dietary history has been through a variety of
phases9. In the Middle Ages and right up to the 17th century, the elite classes followed the dietary dictates of their
physicians, before gastronomy took hold of the reins. Then,
after the revolution of 1789, the act of eating was transformed into a culinary tradition. The search for taste and
pleasure at mealtimes became more widespread, and the
practice of eating together at the same table was born, up
until the emergence of the hygienist movement in the early
19th century, when it was discovered that food poisoning
was caused by microbes carried within unsound food. Furthermore, at the end of the 19th century, there emerged a
new standard of body shape: slimness. Therefore, in just
one century, three great trends associated with the French
diet appeared: eating together at the table, health and slimness. Trends that persist and which, to this day, dominate
dietary choices.
At the same time as this cultural evolution of the act of eating, throughout the 19th
in individual calorie intake can be noted, with particularly
favourable effects on health. Grains (mainly in the form of
bread) represented the major part of the daily intake as
they were amongst the cheaper foodstuffs, while energy
requirements remained high1. But the trend would reverse
with nutritional transition: consumption of basic foodstuffs
(grains, starches and dried pulses) face sustained decline
while other products (animal products, fruit and vegetables, fat and sugar) rose sharply. The result: the nutritional structure of the daily diet was fundamentally changed.
In France, between 1880 and 1980, the proportion of carbohydrate-based calories dropped from 70% to 45% of
total energy intake (TEI) while that of fat-derived calories
increased from 16% to 42% of TEI11
sometime between 1985 and 1990, since which time the
relative proportions of the various macronutrients have stabilised.

of these upheavals are both positive (improvements in
biological potential, work aptitude, longevity and quality
of life2) and negative (increase in the number of people
who are overweight, obese, diabetic, etc.). These harmful
effects have been accentuated by simultaneous lifestyle
changes (changes to the structure of employment with a
boom in services, urbanisation and sedentary activities).
Thanks to consumption habits which have been reconstituted and analysed by historians2, 3, we have a fairly accurate idea of the characteristics of dietary evolution in Europe since the 18th century. The main stages of this >>

p. 2 - Understanding the evolution of our dietary behaviour to improve that of the future

© PAPIRAZZI - FOTOLIA.COM

>> evolution are identical in most countries, even if the
timing varies as a function of specific national history (see
box «French history; way of life and diet»). This identical
evolution has led to a convergence of dietary consumption, whether in terms of consumption level (energy and
quantity) or structure (distribution of macronutrients and
food groups consumed). For example, it transpires that
animal-sourced calorie consumption within a country
increases alongside economic development and then
levels off1. This increase is not linked to the meeting of
physiological needs and shows variations in terms of the
food categories consumed by each country as a function of historical and cultural factors. This growth in the
proportion of animal versus vegetable products in most
countries of the world is not impact-free in terms of dietary sustainability as a result of the higher environmental
impact of animal products (large-scale consumption of
vegetable protein and water during production and the
atmospheric emission of waste products)4.
There is also one surprising fact regarding the conver-

Is diet a generational issue?
Our diet has evolved over greater or lesser periods as a result of historical and sociocultural factors. But what about
the diet of a single person throughout the course of the lifetime? This also evolves, but to a lesser extent. It is known as
the age effect. In France, for example, «the consumption of
fresh fruit and vegetables increases consistently up to the
age of 60-65 and then declines», states Pr Pierre Combris,
research director at INRA, the French national institute for
agronomic research. An effect which must be distinguished
from the so-called generation effect: «At the same age, the
younger generations today consume less fruit and fewer
vegetables than their predecessors», he continues.
CREDOC, the French research institute for the study and
monitoring of living standards, often addresses this generation effect by proposing dietary practice evolution hypotheses, suggesting that current practices are more likely
to be accentuated as time progresses. However, the collecnents9 states that

OECD countries has shown that it is largely independent
of income and relative price difference5, 6. More recent
work shows that these results may also be extended to
medium-income countries7, 8.

on the generations». For example, they take no account of
quality and price effects and ignore temporary distortions
caused by innovation.

… AND BY THE RANGE OF AVAILABLE FOOD
This analysis of the evolution of diet also requires us to
consider the range of food made available, as a catalyst
to the aforementioned changes, especially during nutritional transition. This availability demonstrates the same
trend towards convergence. According to the DuALIne1
report, indicators linked to product attributes, claims
made on food packaging and the characteristics of distribution and catering systems back this up. Availability
has in effect been mutating towards a «mass» industrial

diet under the influence of technological innovation and
the expansion of major retail chains in the food supply
network.
Since 1960, products from the food processing industry
have represented, for example, 80% of food expenditure for the average French household, reaching a peak
of around 83% in the 2000s. «However, although the proportion of manufactured products within the food budget
has remained stable, the volumes purchased have in- >>

Understanding the evolution of our dietary behaviour to improve that of the future - p. 3



of eating habits

>> creased as has the extent of processing. The volume of
ultra-fresh products has increased by a factor of 25 in forty
years, demonstrating this replacement of basic products
by prepared products»
report into dietary behaviour9 published in 2010 by INRA,
the French national institute for agronomic research. At the
end of the 20th century, prepared meals and ready-to-use
products experienced great success as they meet a high
demand for time-saving and ‘grab and go’ products within
the context of meal preparation. National dietary surveys
in France (INCA) suggest that the attraction of ready-toconsume products is likely to intensify, encouraged by the
younger generation who are becoming increasingly fond of
snacks, sandwiches and hamburgers11.
At the same time as these changes, the distribution of
food has migrated from the market (or local shop) to

Present day

supermarkets, which now account for 70% of household food expenditure, around 15% of which is in hard
discount stores, while hypermarkets had less than 5%
of market share for food products in 1970. The area of
residence (rural, town centre, etc.) and age are the main
determinants for the purchase location9.
During the 20th century, consumers in the West have progressively increased the proportion of fats in their diet.
An evolution one can attribute to history, to changes in
food availability, and more generally to lifestyle changes.
All industrialised countries have experienced this dietary
transition, whether sooner, as in the UK, or later, as in the
countries of southern Europe. Currently, it is the emerging and developing economies that are faced with this
issue, notwithstanding accelerated by globalisation.

Current consumption behaviour

Today, the search for food is no longer solely
an act of purchase, and we are gradually losing the

How do the French
perceive their diet ?

convivial, emotional and social aspects associated with
cooking, we take fewer meals as a family, etc. «Within the
space of just two generations, society has swept away
thousands of years worth of cultural evolution regarding
the understanding of the vegetable and animal resources
in our food and everything associated with the way they
are consumed», observes Pascal Picq. The explanation?
Our diet is the result of a dual evolution, »the first in relation to the resources available in the environment, as for
all species, and the second derived from complex interactions between cultural innovations and our biology»,
the paleoanthropologist states.
In practice, although dietary behaviour is fundamentally
governed by the consumer’s own internal physiological
regulation, it is nonetheless influenced, and frequently
transformed, by the restrictions and information emanating from their environment. These constraints include
social norms about food preferences, but also dietary practices, especially the pattern and structure of
meals. As for information received by the consumer, this
comes from the commercial world (advertising, marketing campaigns at the place of purchase, nutritional labelling, product claims), from peers (friends, family) and
health promoters (doctors, information campaigns, etc.).
Consumers’ behaviour is also inseparable from the type
tary judgements generally held by society will also condition choices.

The French consider that product safety and access for
all to a quality diet should constitute a major National
priority. However, they also expect their government to
take steps to develop the consumption of local products, to encourage the food processing industry to
improve the quality of their products, and to reduce
waste and food packaging. Regarding information
sources, seven out of ten French people state that they
mainly keep themselves informed about food issues via
television (ahead of the press, the Internet, books and
radio), while 3 out of 10 say they do not trust any public
bodies. Regarding the role attributed to diet, this appears to depend on the standard of living. Those with
as a necessity, while others view it above all as a pleasure. The perception of a link between diet and health
has been falling since 2007, and a number of risks still
concern the French, notably the presence of pesticides
in crops and microorganisms in other food products.
From the 2011 survey on perceptions about diet
conducted by CREDOC, the French research institute
for the study and monitoring of living standards14.

THE ERA OF «SUSTAINABLE EATING»
To illustrate the influence of society on the everyday diet
of the consumer, the example of France is enlighte- >>


© YURI ARCURS - FOTOLIA.COM

>>

«Over the past fifty years, we have seen a shift
take place from gastronomy to personal commitment,
moving through five intermediate phases», states Martine Padilla, a scientific administrator at CIHEAM-IAMM
(France). The restrictiveness of the 1970s made way for
the dynamic «fast food» movement of the early 1980s,
followed by the advent of «eat light» in 1987, and then
the cacophony of «eat properly» in the 1990s, which in
turn was succeeded by the «health-pleasure» movement
of the period 2000-2008. So where are we today? The
French, like many Europeans, are experiencing the era
of «sustainable eating» that often confronts consumers
with their responsibilities as citizens to make no-win decisions between the common good and their own health.
It is a plain fact that being a consumer in 2011 is first and
foremost about being a good citizen! «Current changes,
unlike in other periods, can genuinely be a disruptive influence to the extent that they question the fundamentals
of society and dietary systems», states Martine Padilla.
Consumers are therefore faced with the contradiction of
their expectations in terms of safety (origin, traceability,
etc.) and their responsibilities as good citizens (environment, ethics, animal welfare, etc.), set against innovations more focused on practicality, health, naturalness
and pleasure.
CONSUMPTION TRENDS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE
PARADOX AND THE AMBIGUOUS
A number of trends, however, are emerging amongst
this confusion. They are evidence of an attraction to
tion, a return to unprocessed products and cooking, and
the growth of responsible and enjoyable foods and of
conviviality. It is also possible to observe a boom in the
ganic, fair trade and animal welfare. It is a boom that >>

Has «sustainable eating»
come of age?
The notion of a «sustainable diet» was defined as follows at the international scientific symposium held in
November 2010 in Rome: «Sustainable diets are those
with a low environmental impact, which contribute to
nutritional and food security and to a healthy lifestyle
for current and future generations. Sustainable diets
protect and respect biodiversity and ecosystems, are
culturally acceptable, accessible, economically just
and affordable, nutritionally balanced, healthy without
posing any health risk, while still making it possible
to optimise the use of natural and human resources.»
But when discussing diet, we must also talk about
eating: are those who practice «sustainable eating»
true to the philosophy? Although there are indeed
some consumers who are determined to do their
utmost to ensure the existence of such dietary practices, it must nevertheless be stated that, in general,
the evolution of consumer demand is not following
the precise path required by sustainable development. «They overwhelmingly favour variety of choice,
which entails an extended supply area and therefore
increased transportation; they demand food safety
which requires more washing, thermal treatment and
packaging; they want low prices which is often achieved through higher productivity, economies of scale
and/or globalisation», points out Jean-Louis Lambert
(France), an economist and sociologist specialising
in dietary practices. To meet the growing pressure of
the environment, mankind will therefore have to get
used to doing without certain benefits so it remains
possible to enjoy these culinary delights over the
long term.




of eating habits

>> without doubt fulfils the desire to limit one’s impact
on the environment. «Such trends contradict a number of
previously popular trends. But does this mean they are
unrealistic?, asks Martine Padilla. lt is more likely that
they represent the diverse facets that make up today’s
individual, marking the end of mass consumption patterns.»
Nonetheless, making informed choices when surrounlimit their consumption of meat in favour of vegetables?
Should they favour local over imported produce? Or seasonal produce over that available all year round? Organic
over conventional? «In the absence of adequate studies,
answers can sometimes be counter-intuitive», states the

sociologist. Accordingly, with their zeal for social and
environmental responsibility and their desire for economic solidarity and transparency, the behaviour of modern
consumers continues to evolve in guilt-ridden confusion.
That said, the dietary convergence described previously
and its fundamental trends cannot mask significant variation not only between different countries, but also within
each country. Food insecurity remains a public health
ly one billion people in the world are under-nourished
(including in affluent nations) and millions of others are
affected by chronic illness such as obesity and diabetes
type 2, which have a greater impact on of lower social
economic groups12, 13.

Tomorrow What does the future have in store for us?

Scenario no

from confusion and the developing countries in the
full throes of nutritional transition, how will the world resolve the issue of sustainability and food? Such is the

(eco-conditionality of common agricultural policy aid, energy savings that require
Scenario no

food to meet qualitative and quantitative needs within the
context of pressure on resources and climate change.
The world’s food systems are constantly evolving. At the
same time, existing contextual elements are changing and
food supply systems are being transformed. Predicting
the outcome of future changes is all but impossible. But

possible to comprehend the changes ahead.
POSSIBLE SCENARIOS
In 2007, Pierre Feillet, a member of the French Academy
of Agriculture and the Academy of Technologies, followed
described at the end of comprehensive research on the diet
of the French15, one which can be transposed more or less
to all industrialised countries.
Scenario no
vourings, etc.).
Scenario no
diet (interventionist dietary policy, analysis
of individual needs according to the nutrigenome, etc.).
Scenario no
pose their products (development of services,
functional food, and genetic engineering).

many additives and products with stanconsumerism is all-powerful, regionalism
is valued.
As far as the French are concerned, Martine Padilla judges
that «although current trends suggest we are moving towards scenarios 4 and 5, we can also wager that industrial
power will work out how to sell sustainably while adapting
leading edge technologies to ancestral expertise.»

THE WAY AHEAD ON A GLOBAL LEVEL
considered the question of food and sustainability16. The
DuALIne discussions held at INRA cover complete food
systems from leaving the farm right up to consumption
and waste elimination. As such, it distinguishes itself
from and complements the Agrimonde7 forecast, which
focuses on global issues associated with agriculture.
It examines numerous questions and is testament to the
crease of animal-derived calories and its consequences,
the organisation of food systems in liaison with the production of chemicals and renewable energy, losses and
waste, the impact of international markets on consumption, etc. Accordingly, this work does not end here with
the presentation of scenarios, but with 3 cross-func- >>


© THE24STUDIO - FOTOLIA.COM

>> tional messages linked to the inequalities of access
to food, to regional dynamics and the governance of food
move towards more sustainable food systems, namely
public policy, voluntary commitments made by the agrifood industry and consumer awareness.
This last point raises the issue of the pertinence and effectiveness of nutritional information, which is sometimes
questioned despite models adopted in France, Europe and
17

. Validated and consensual nutritional information could therefore
have a sustainable impact on major consumption trends18,
19
. Other works, however, on the mechanisms for receiving and embracing dietary norms, show that knowledge
practices. «Implementation in effect presupposes the
integration of practices that comply with conventions in
everyday routines and thought processes, which do not
always leave room for the conventions one would like to
see being developed in terms of public health, and which
can even represent contradictory conventions», the expert
report states1. So will a mother suggest vegetables at the
risk of disturbing the convivial atmosphere of the family
meal? It seems highly doubtful…20. Hence the relevance
of updating the role and mechanisms for introducing new
lity but also the ecological dimensions of dietary practices.
To this end, a multidisciplinary approach which includes
the economic, social and political sciences would appear
vital to the direction of dietary behaviour in a sustainable
manner that will encompass all aspects of the complex
issue that is man’s diet.

The means of achieving a sustainable
diet: as many questions as answers
Moving towards new sustainable food systems poses a
number of questions highlighted by the DuALIne16 discussion paper. For example, regarding the question of reducing
the greenhouse gases associated with food production, it
would seem that ingesting lower total quantities is more
effective than modifying the type of food consumed. It is an
outcome that contradicts popular assumptions and which
therefore needs to be validated by extensive research. The
DuALIne report also points to the necessity of rethinking
food systems, especially in industrialised countries. In
effect, the integration of environmental demands requires
profound changes, both in terms of industrial processes
and the organisation of industry, and the relationships
between the various operators in the food supply chain.
Finally, the logic of locating agricultural production close to
the consumer seems irresistible. However, at a time when
over half of the world’s population lives in towns and cities,
should we really be encouraging agriculture to be carried
out close to them? From an energy and environmental
point of view, the answer is far from obvious. Greenhouse
to towns and cities, the pollution of the water table… just
some of the examples that question the relocation of agricultural production nearer to the place of consumption, the
possibility of local sustainable development and the advantages of short supply chains.
DuALIne has therefore opened up numerous perspectives that will give rise to public and private research programmes, both nationally and internationally, encouraged
by the emergence of the new European ‘Susfood’ network
dedicated to sustainable food.



© IOANA DAVIES (DRUTU) - FOTOLIA.COM

References
[1] Combris P, Maire B, Réquillart V.
2011. Consommation et consomlité de l’alimentation face à de
nouveaux enjeux. Questions à la
recherche, Esnouf C, Russel M,
Bricas N. (Coords.), Rapport InraCirad (France), 27-44.
[2] Fogel RW. 1994. Economic
Growth, Population Theory, and
Term Processes on the Making of
Economic Policy. American Economic Review,
[3] Etiévant P, Bellisle F, Dallongeville
J, Donnars C, Etilé F, Guichard E,
Padilla M, Romon-Rousseaux M,
Sabbagh C, Tibi A (éditeurs) 2010.
quels en sont les déterminants ?
Quelles actions pour quels effets ? Rapport de l’expertise
l’Inra à la demande du ministère
de l’Alimentation, de l’Agriculture
et de la Pêche, France.
[4] Hébel P. Coordinatrice. 2007.
Comportements et consommations alimentaires en France. Enquête CCAF 2007. Editions TEC
& DOC.

prospective

[5] Combris P. 2006. Le poids des
contraintes économiques dans
les choix alimentaires. Cahiers de
Nutrition et de Diététique,
279-84.
[6] Lafay L. Coordinateur. 2007.
Étude Individuelle Nationale des
Consommations Alimentaires 2
(INCA 2) 2006-2007. Rapport de
l’Agence française de sécurité
sanitaire des aliments.
[7] Paillard SC, Treyer SC, Dorin BC.

2050. Editions Quae, Matière à
débattre et à décider (Paris), 296
p.
[8] Crédoc. 2011. Baromètre de la
perception
de
l’alimentation.
pdf/Baro_alimentation_2011_
2012).
[9] Feillet P. 2007. La nourriture des
Français, de la maîtrise du feu…
aux années 2030. Editions Quae
(Versailles), 248 p.
[10] Ronzon T, Paillard S, Chemineau

sur

l’alimentation

de l’alimentation face à de nouveaux enjeux. Questions à la recherche, Esnouf, C., Russel, M.
et Bricas, N. (Coords.), Rapport
Inra-Cirad (France), 146-63.
[11] Nichele V. 2003. Health information and food demand in France.
Wallingford UK: CABI Publishing
(Health, nutrition and food demand).
[12] Mazzocchi M, Brasili C, Sandri
E. 2008. Trends in dietary patterns and compliance with World
Health Organization recommenlysis. Public Health Nutrition,

[13] Schmidhuber J, Traill WB. 2006.
The changing structure of diets
in the European Union in relation
to healthy eating guidelines. Public Health Nutrition,
95.
[14] Régnier F. 2009. Obésité, goûts
et consommation. Intégration
des normes d'alimentation et
appartenance sociale. Revue
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747-73.


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