Dietary guidelines are crucial for public health, aiming to provide populations with the necessary information to make informed food choices. Worldwide, over 100 countries have developed or are developing food-based dietary guidelines, many of which have been revised multiple times to reflect the evolving understanding of nutrition and health. In Israel, these guidelines must consider the nation's unique circumstances, including its commitment to food security, the diverse cultural and religious dietary practices of its population, and the economic factors affecting access to nutritious food.
Food Security in Israel: A Multi-Faceted Challenge
Food security, defined as "all people, at all times, having physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life," is a paramount concern for any nation. In Israel, ensuring food security requires a comprehensive approach that addresses various interconnected factors.
Historical Context and Current Trends
In the early years following Israel's independence, the country faced significant challenges in feeding its rapidly growing population due to massive waves of immigration. Food rationing was implemented as a necessary measure. However, substantial investments in agriculture led to significant growth in agricultural output, outpacing population growth for the first four decades of the nation's existence.
Despite these early successes, the growth rate of agricultural output has gradually slowed down, mirroring trends observed in many developed countries. This slowdown can be attributed to several factors, including:
- Urbanization: The loss of fertile farmland to urbanization and the shift towards more marginal land.
- Water Scarcity: The shortage of water, which necessitates reliance on desalinated water (which can be costly for many crops) and treated water (which may not be suitable for all crops and can lead to yield losses).
- Environmental Regulations: Increasingly stringent environmental and health regulations regarding the use of pesticides and herbicides, which can adversely affect both yields and profitability.
Dependence on Imports and Global Risks
Israel's population growth and the slowdown in agricultural production growth have led to an increasing reliance on food imports. While imports can help meet the country's food needs, they also expose Israel to global risks such as climate change, international conflicts, and disruptions in global supply chains. The global triple risk to food security is currently exacerbated for Israel by the risk of shortage of labor due to the security situation, making this risk-management strategy even more necessary.
Read also: Nutritional info for Diet Coke in Israel
The Need for a Comprehensive Food Security Strategy
To address these challenges, there is a growing recognition of the need for a long-term risk-management strategy that balances local production and imports. This strategy should be overseen by a governmental authority responsible for formulating feasible objectives, implementing policy measures, and supervising their execution.
Measuring Food Security in Israel
Several indicators are used to assess food security in Israel, including:
- Food Availability: This includes factors such as the sufficiency of supply, agricultural R&D, agricultural infrastructure, volatility of agricultural production, political and social barriers to access, food loss, and policy commitment.
- Food Affordability: This is measured by the change in the cost of food, the poverty rate, an inequality-adjusted income index, and import tariffs.
- **Food Quality and Safety:
- Natural Resources and Resilience:
Dietary Guidelines and Affordability
Dietary guidelines for families with children are designed to meet the Dietary Recommended Intake. However, the cost of a healthy diet and the extent to which families can afford it in Israel is unclear.
Cost of a Healthy Diet
The average daily dietary cost per person was 35.5 ± 7.7 New Israeli shekels (equivalent to $9.7 ± $2.11). The older the individual, the more food costs increase. The ratio between the average cost of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two intermediate meals was 1.5:3.4:1.2:1, respectively.
Affordability Challenges
For households with children, the median monthly cost of the recommended diet, as a percentage of net household income was 20%. There was an inverse association with socioeconomic status (SES) as the median monthly food expenses for the first (lowest) quintile was 55% of the household's income and only 9.3% of the 5th (highest) income quintile. By geographic residential area, the median percentage of the net income from monthly dietary costs was 23%. The highest costs were in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem. Lunch made up 47% of food expenditures, if theoretically omitted, diet expenditures for households with children would decrease by an average of 15%. The food group that composed the highest component of the food budget was the vegetable group, with an average cost of 29% monthly, followed by the meat and meat substitutes group (19%).
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Theoretical calculation shows that two-thirds of the households with children in Israel could not purchase the recommended diet in 2018, with significant disparities according to socioeconomic status. Policymakers should consider steps to decrease health inequality in food affordability, targeting the three middle-lower income quintiles. Our findings suggest the need to expand the provision of school lunches.
Accessibility Barriers
Accessibility barriers further exacerbate food security issues, as limited access to supermarkets and affordable sources of nutritious food makes maintaining a balanced diet incredibly challenging for lower-income families. While Israel has not formally documented “food deserts,” approximately 30% of households lack private transportation, restricting access to more prominent, affordable grocery outlets and highlighting how economic and logistical constraints shape dietary choices
Kashrut and Dietary Guidelines
In addition to addressing food security and nutritional needs, dietary guidelines in Israel must also consider the religious and cultural practices of its diverse population. Kashrut, the body of Jewish dietary laws, plays a significant role in the food choices of many Israelis.
Basic Principles of Kashrut
Kashrut outlines which foods are permissible (kosher) and which are forbidden (treif). The laws of Kashrut are a major area covered in traditional rabbinic ordination. Most of the basic laws of kashrut are derived from the Torah's books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Their details and practical application, however, are set down in the Oral Torah, (eventually codified in the Mishnah and Talmud), and elaborated on in the later rabbinical literature. Key principles include:
- Permitted and Forbidden Animals: Only meat from particular species is permissible. Mammals that both chew their cud (ruminate) and have cloven hooves can be kosher. Non-kosher animals include mammals without these identifying characteristics, birds of prey, and fish without fins or scales. Reptiles, amphibians, and most invertebrates are also non-kosher.
- Ritual Slaughter (Shechita): Mammals and fowl must be slaughtered by a trained individual (a shochet) using a special method of slaughter, shechita. Shechita slaughter severs the jugular vein, carotid artery, esophagus, and trachea in a single continuous cutting movement with an unserrated, sharp knife.
- Draining of Blood: All blood must be drained from meat and poultry or broiled out of it before it is eaten. When an animal is ritually slaughtered (shechted) the raw meat is traditionally cut, salted, and rinsed, prior to cooking. Salting of raw meat draws out the blood that lodges on the inner surface of the meat. The salting is done with coarse grain salt, commonly referred to as kosher salt, after which the meat is laid over a grating or colander to allow for drainage.
- Separation of Meat and Dairy (Basar Be-Chalav): Meat and meat derivatives may never be mixed with milk and milk derivatives. This law derives from the broad interpretation of the commandment not to "cook a kid in its mother's milk". According to the Shulchan Aruch, a six-hour waiting period is recommended between consuming meat and dairy.
- Pareve Foods: Pareve products contain neither meat, milk, nor their respective derivatives; they include foods such as kosher fish, eggs from permitted birds, grains, produce, and other edible vegetation.
- Passover Restrictions: Passover has stricter dietary rules, the most important of which is the prohibition on eating leavened bread or derivatives of this, which are known as chametz.
Kashrut Certification
Over the past century, many kashrut certification agencies have started to certify products, manufacturers, and restaurants as kosher, usually authorizing the use of a proprietary symbol or certificate, called a hechsher, to be displayed by the food establishment or on the product, which indicates that they are in compliance with the kosher laws. The certification marks of the various rabbis and organisations are too numerous to list, but one of the most commonly used in the United States of America is that of the Union of Orthodox Congregations, who use a U inside a circle ("O-U"), symbolising the initials of Orthodox Union.
Read also: Walnut Keto Guide
Influence on Dietary Choices
Kashrut significantly influences the dietary choices of observant Jews in Israel. These laws dictate not only which foods can be consumed but also how they must be prepared and consumed. This can impact the availability, affordability, and accessibility of certain foods, particularly for those adhering strictly to kashrut.
Other Dietary Considerations
Bishul Akum
Certain foods must be prepared in whole or in part by Jews. Food cooked by a non-Jew (bishul akum)-this law was enacted for concerns of intermarriage.
Insect Infestation
Vegetables such as spinach and cauliflower must be checked for insect infestation. Although plants and minerals are nearly always kosher, vegetarian restaurants and producers of vegetarian foods are required to obtain a hechsher, certifying that a rabbinical organization has approved their products as being kosher, because the hechsher usually certifies that certain vegetables have been checked for insect infestation and steps have been taken to ensure that cooked food meets the requirements of bishul Yisrael.
Genetically Engineered Foods
With the advent of genetic engineering, scholars in both academia and Judaic faith have differing viewpoints on whether these new strains of foods are to be considered kosher or not. Some put forth that this intermixing of species is against the teachings of the Talmud and thus against Jewish Law and non-kosher.
tags: #dietary #guidelines #Israel