Evaluating the environmental impact of various dietary patterns combined with different food production systems

Baroni, Luciana; Cenci, Lorenzo; Tettamanti, Massimo; Berati, Marina

doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602522

Cited by 317 publications

(248 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

214

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Water has a role in the global economy; it has uses as a solvent in a wide range of chemical preparations, in cooling towers, transportation and industry. It is estimated that around 70% of fresh water is used in agriculture (Baroni et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of natural and anthropogenic factors on surface and groundwater quality in rural and urban areas

Khatri¹,

Tyagi²

2014

Frontiers in Life Science

795

283

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although water constitutes 71% of the earth's surface, only 0.3% of it is available as fresh water for human use. Moreover, the quality of fresh water in ground and surface systems is of great concern, as potable water needs to have appropriate mineral content. Ground and surface water quality in rural and urban environments is affected by both natural processes and anthropogenic influences. Because of this, water is becoming scarcer as the population increases across the world. Natural processes leading to changes in water quality include weathering of rocks, evapotranspiration, depositions due to wind, leaching from soil, run-off due to hydrological factors, and biological processes in the aquatic environment. These natural processes cause changes in the pH and alkalinity of the water, and also phosphorus loading, increase in fluoride content and high concentrations of sulphates. Anthropogenic factors affecting water quality include impacts due to agriculture, use of fertilizers, manures and pesticides, animal husbandry activities, inefficient irrigation practices, deforestation of woods, aquaculture, pollution due to industrial effluents and domestic sewage, mining, and recreational activities. These anthropogenic influences cause elevated concentrations of heavy metals, mercury, coliforms and nutrient loads. This paper studies the effects of natural processes and human influences in rural and urban aquatic systems. Pollution due to environmental parameters such as heavy metal pollution, heavy metals and bacterial and pathogenic contamination of both urban and rural areas is discussed in detail.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of natural and anthropogenic factors on surface and groundwater quality in rural and urban areas

Khatri¹,

Tyagi²

2014

Frontiers in Life Science

795

283

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A landmark study acknowledging the multiple impacts of meat production on ecosystems is the report Livestock's Long Shadow by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (Steinfeld et al 2006; see also Steinfeld, 2009). With respect to meat consumption-which is not Livestock's Long Shadow's primary focus-there is a strong scholarly consensus that plant-based foods are much better from both environmental and energyefficiency perspectives than animal-based foods (e.g., Pimentel & Pimentel, 2003;2008;Duchin, 2005;Baroni et al 2007;McMichael et al 2007;Marlow et al 2009;Tukker et al 2011). Therefore, reducing the consumption of meat and dairy products (we will not focus on the latter here) is crucial for making our diets more sustainable and reducing the ecological footprint of food systems (Lang & Barling, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability and meat consumption: is reduction realistic?

Dagevos

Voordouw

2013

Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy

129

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Meat is critical with respect to sustainability because meat products are among the most energy-intensive and ecologically burdensome foods. Empirical studies of the meat-consumption frequency of Dutch consumers show that, apart from meat-avoiders and meat-eaters, many people are meat-reducers that eat no meat at least one day per week. Meat-consumption frequencies provide empirical evidence for different modes of "flexitarianism," including light, medium, and heavy flexitarians. In particular, the existence of heavy flexitarians suggests that the customary position of meat and other animal-based dietary products in the food hierarchy is not inviolable. To improve our understanding of meat reduction, cluster analysis adds information about differences across flexitarians. Given the enormous environmental impact of animal-protein consumption and the apparent sympathy of consumers for meat reduction, it is surprising that politicians and policy makers demonstrate little, if any, interest in strategies to reduce meat consumption and to encourage more sustainable eating practices.

show abstract

“…GHGE for a day's consumption was estimated to be 4·7 (SD 1·2) kg CO 2 e for men and 3·7 (SD 0·9) kg CO 2 e for women in a population-based survey in France (12) . In Western diets, meat and dairy are the most important contributors to GHGE (5,7,(13)(14)(15)(16) . Changing from a meat-and dairy-based diet towards a more plantbased diet may reduce GHGE by 20-35 % on a daily basis (17)(18)(19) .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Greenhouse gas emission of diets in the Netherlands and associations with food, energy and macronutrient intakes

Temme

Toxopeus

Kramer

et al. 2014

Public Health Nutr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: To evaluate the greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) of diets in Dutch girls, boys, women and men and to explore associations with diet composition. Design: Descriptive analyses for the total population as well as stratified for gender, age and dietary environmental load. Setting: The Netherlands. Subjects: Dutch children and adults aged 7-69 years (n 3818). Results: The GHGE of daily diets was on average 3·2 kg CO 2 -equivalents (CO 2 e) for girls, 3·6 kg CO 2 e for boys, 3·7 kg CO 2 e for women and 4·8 kg CO 2 e for men. Meat and cheese contributed about 40 % and drinks (including milk and alcoholic drinks) 20 % to daily GHGE. Considerable differences in environmental loads of diets existed within age and gender groups. Persons with higher-GHGE diets consumed more (in quantity of foods and especially drinks) than their counterparts of a similar sex and age with low-GHGE diets. Major differences between high-and low-GHGE diets were in meat, cheese and dairy consumption as well as in soft drinks (girls, boys and women) and alcoholic drinks (men). Of those, differences in meat consumption determined the differences in GHGE most. Diets with higher GHGE were associated with higher saturated fat intake and lower fibre intake Conclusions: GHGE of daily diets in the Netherlands is between 3 and 5 kg CO 2 e, with considerable differences between individuals. Meat, dairy and drinks contribute most to GHGE. The insights of the study may be used in developing (age-and gender-specific) food-based dietary guidelines that take into account both health and sustainability aspects.

show abstract

Evaluating the environmental impact of various dietary patterns combined with different food production systems

Cited by 317 publications

References 19 publications

Influences of natural and anthropogenic factors on surface and groundwater quality in rural and urban areas

Influences of natural and anthropogenic factors on surface and groundwater quality in rural and urban areas

Sustainability and meat consumption: is reduction realistic?

Greenhouse gas emission of diets in the Netherlands and associations with food, energy and macronutrient intakes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About