Diets, Food Choices and Environmental Impacts across an Urban-Rural Interface in Northern Vietnam

Abstract

Human diets and their associated environmental impacts differ across segments of the population. There is evidence that consumer choices of food intake can also affect the overall environmental impacts of a food system. This paper analyzes the environmental impact of diets and food choices across a rural–urban transect in Northern Vietnam by using mixed survey data from 619 adult respondents. The average greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) resulting from producing the daily food intake of adults in the urban and peri-urban districts were similar, while the average in the rural district was lower. Although starchy staples contributed the most to energy intake, pork and beef were the largest contributors to GHGE. Metrics of blue water use were higher for diets of males than those of females in all three districts. Interestingly, the difference in mean diet diversity score between urban and rural households was significant, and females’ diets were more diverse than those of males. As expected, urban households were more likely to buy food, while rural households often produced their own foods. Urban households reported prioritizing personal health and the natural content of food and would increase seafood and fruits if their income were to increase. In rural regions, interventions aimed at reducing undernutrition should address improving diet quality without significant increases to diet-related environmental impacts.

Interactions between Food Environment and (Un)healthy Consumption: Evidence along a Rural-Urban Transect in Viet Nam

“…Additionally, although food system outcomes cover not only nutritional and health but also socio-economic and environmental dimensions, our study only focuses on how food environment influences consumption outcomes. A companion paper under the same overarching study has attempted to compare environmental impacts of diets and food choices among the three sites and suggested a trade-off between nutritional and environmental outcomes [75]. Future research is challenged to find solutions regarding the food environment that helps to improve diet quality without sacrificing environmental goals.…”

Challenges to Operationalizing Sustainable Diets: Perspectives From Kenya and Vietnam

“…Average incomes have risen in both countries as both have experienced economic growth over the last decades, with a somewhat faster rise in Vietnam; each were upgraded by the World Bank to "lower-middle income" categories in the last decade (World Bank, 2015). On a mass basis per capita, vegetables and rice make up the majority of the Vietnamese diet, with irrigated rice the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) although rice intake has decreased recently 2 ; a sharp rise in beef consumption is also increasing the carbon footprint of Vietnamese diets (Heller et al, 2020;Trinh et al, 2021). Beef along with dairy is the major contributor to GHGE in Kenya, though maize and vegetables make up most of the Kenyan diet on a mass basis per capita (Heller et al, 2020).…”

Improving Food Systems: A Participatory Consultation Exercise to Determine Priority Research and Action Areas in Viet Nam

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