Updated October 7th 2020
We created Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil for health conscious, discerning food lovers across all cultures and culinary backgrounds and made with care for the environment. When we speak with our customers at our tasting events they always ask about our source in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains as well as how it is produced. They care passionately about the taste, how high quality extra virgin olive oil like Morocco Gold has proven health benefits and increasingly the impact on the environment.
We were fascinated with a new study by researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Minnesota that demonstrates foods that are considered to be healthy, such as whole-grain cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and olive oil, also have the lowest environmental impact.
This extensive research by Michael A Clark, Marco Springmann, Jason Hill, and David Tilman, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows that eating healthier also means eating more sustainably and reveals a clear link between healthy food and environmental sustainability.
Food choices are shifting globally in ways that are negatively affecting both human health and the environment. Here the researchers considered how consuming an additional serving per day of each of 15 foods key food groups is associated with 5 health outcomes in adults and 5 aspects of agriculturally driven environmental degradation.
Envirnomental Research
The researchers found that “while there is substantial variation in the health outcomes of different foods, foods associated with a larger reduction in disease risk for one health outcome are often associated with larger reductions in disease risk for other health outcomes. Likewise, foods with lower impacts on one metric of environmental harm tend to have lower impacts on others”.
Additionally, of the foods associated with improved health (whole grain cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, olive oil, and fish), all except fish have among the lowest environmental impacts, and fish has markedly lower impacts than red meats and processed meats. Foods associated with the largest negative environmental impacts—unprocessed and processed red meat—are consistently associated with the largest increases in disease risk.
Diet
For instance dietary transitions toward greater consumption of healthier foods would generally improve environmental sustainability. None the less processed foods high in sugars harm health but can have relatively low environmental impacts. These findings could help consumers, policy makers, and food companies to better understand the multiple health and environmental implications of food choices”.
As part of the study, the researchers examined the impact of consuming an additional serving per day of fifteen specific foods on five “health outcomes” in adults that are brought on by poor diets and account for nearly 40 percent of global mortality, specifically: mortality, type two diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease, and colorectal cancer.
At the same time, the effects on five “aspects of agriculturally driven environmental degradation” were studied including greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, acidification and eutrophication (the last two are forms of nutrient pollution).
The foods included chicken, dairy, eggs, fish, fruits, legumes, nuts, olive oil, potatoes, processed red meat, refined grain cereals, sugar-sweetened beverages, unprocessed red meat, vegetables, and whole-grain cereals.
By comparing the five health and five environmental impacts of each food, the researchers determined that foods with the lowest environmental impacts often have the largest health benefits. Foods such as whole-grain cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, olive oil, and fish had the most positive impact on health while also having the lowest environmental impact (with the exception of fish).
Conversely, the foods with the largest environmental impacts, such as unprocessed and processed red meat were also associated with the highest risk of disease. Minimally processed, health-boosting plant foods and olive oil were found to have a low environmental impact, but so did processed foods high in sugar that are harmful to health, such as sugar-sweetened beverages.
Where Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil Fits In
Morocco Gold is a natural, unfiltered, ultra premium, polyphenol rich extra virgin olive oil. It’s exquisite taste and health enhancing qualities are guaranteed by our rigorous testing, provenance and authenticity, and strict adherence to single sourcing, with no blending or mixing.
As consumers in the UK and other markets are showing greater interest in healthy eating, lifestyles and wider wellbeing, provenance authenticity and high quality have become paramount. The exceptionally high quality of Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil is the result of care and attention to detail throughout the entire production process.
The specific soil conditions of the Beni Mellal region, together with the mild winters and summers, caressed by hot winds from the Sahara, make ideal growing conditions for Morocco Gold olives. The existence of centenary trees and traditional presses (maasras) testify to the longevity of olive cultivation in this area.
