[Health Council of the Netherlands follows the ecological trail: a new venture]

The Health Council of the Netherlands' report 'Guidelines for a healthy diet: the ecological perspective' only partially succeeds in its objectives. The main conclusions are correct: less calories for the obese and replacement of animal protein by plant-based foods are good for both health and the environment, and consumption of fish twice a week is good for health, but not for the environment. However, the Health Council's report does not discuss regulatory measures such as internalization of external costs and the introduction of good manufacturing practices, which can be conducive to implementing a more environmentally friendly healthy diet. Also more could have been done with existing scientific literature, which provides support for eating fresh seasonal produce and lowering the average Dutch protein intake by about one third as contributions to an environmentally friendly healthy diet, and for further research in the field of algae-based fish substitutes.