The Livewell plate computer app: Development and testing of an interactive computer app balancing healthy and environmental aspects of food choice

Abstract

Addressing sustainability of the food system requires balancing of health, environmental, social and economic aspects of food choices. While we have shown that it is possible to create a realistic diet that can achieve both dietary requirements for health and have a lower environmental impact in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) (1) , it is difficult to communicate to the public how to balance these concerns in everyday food choices. The aim of this study was to develop and test an educational tool, in the form of an interactive computer application (app), to show the combinations of food choices that can achieve healthy and environmentally sustainable diets. The app was developed by the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health in collaboration with the BBSRC Global Food Security programme (www.foodsecurity. ac.uk) and Searchpath application developers (www.searchpath.co.uk). We built the Livewell plate app on the basic principles of the Eatwell plate, which illustrates the proportions of five food groups that make up a healthy diet (2). The Livewell plate app (Fig. 1) incorporates the environmental impact of food choices (e.g. GHGE), using six food groups rather than the five group in the Eatwell plate; 'meat, fish, eggs beans' group is split into 'meat and fish' and 'eggs and beans' because of the higher GHGE associated with production of the former group. Users change the proportions of the food groups which alters the healthiness score and the GHGE score of the whole diet as shown on the two upper sliding scales; labelled 'healthy' and 'good for the environment'. A face in the centre of the plate provides feedback on the combination of the two scales (e.g. smiling face would show a healthy and low GHGE diet). At the end the user can get a medal (gold, silver, bronze) based on their food choices (Figure 2).

Do Europeans consider sustainability when making food choices? A survey of Polish city-dwellers

“…– the rules directly focus on environmental or social aspects of sustainability, for example:Eat better food (Sustain; a British NGO)/Buy food that meets a credible certified standard; consider MSC, free-range and fair trade (WWF)/Organic foods and fair trade products (Germany)/Value your food, ask where it comes from and how it is produced (UK)/Choose fish sourced from sustainable stocks, seasonality and capture methods are important here too (UK);Seasonal and regional – your first choice (Germany)/Buy local, seasonal and environmentally friendly food (Sustain)/Urban, rural, regional – sustainable farming with short transport routes and seasonal products (Germany);Drink tap water (UK)/Tap water is the drink with the lowest environmental impact (Sweden)/Tap water is drinking-water (Germany);Waste less food (WWF)/Aim to be waste-free: reducing food waste and packaging (Sustain)/Don’t waste food (UK) ( 10 , 17 – 22 ) .…”

“…Waste less food (WWF)/Aim to be waste-free: reducing food waste and packaging (Sustain)/Don’t waste food (UK) ( 10 , 17 – 22 ) .…”

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

“…Typically, food drives 20–30 % of the life-cycle environmental impacts of final household consumption ( 5 ) . To reduce the current burden of food consumption on the environment, food consumption patterns need to change ( 6 , 7 ) .…”

Environmental and nutrition impact of achieving new School Food Plan recommendations in the primary school meals sector in England

“…Previous literature has shown that changing the sources of food will not be adequate to meet the current GHGE targets set by the UK Government and there is a need to shift diets towards more sustainable diets. 8 35 Our analysis suggests that with regard to one environmental indicator—GHGEs—implementation of the SFP will not lead to a more sustainable diet and could lead to increases in emissions.…”