The impact of healthier dietary scenarios on the global blue water scarcity footprint of food consumption in the UK

Hess, Tim; Andersson, Ulf; Mena, Carlos; Williams, A.

doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.10.013

Cited by 62 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…For crops, the green WF represents the volume of precipitation expended during production, calculated from total rainwater evapotranspiration plus the water incorporated into the harvested crop. The blue WF represents the volume of ground and surface water delivered to crops through irrigation (Hess et al, 2015). The grey WF represents the volume of freshwater that would be required to dilute agricultural pollution to meet water quality standards (Aldaya et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The water use of Indian diets and socio-demographic factors related to dietary blue water footprint

Harris

Green

Joy

et al. 2017

Science of The Total Environment

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Agriculture accounts for ~ 90% of India's fresh water use, and there are concerns that future food production will be threatened by insufficient water supply of adequate quality. This study aimed to quantify the water required in the production of diets in India using the water footprint (WF) assessment method. The socio-demographic associations of dietary WFs were explored using mixed effects regression models with a particular focus on blue (irrigation) WF given the importance for Indian agriculture. Dietary data from ~ 7000 adults living in India were matched to India-specific WF data for food groups to quantify the blue and green (rainfall) WF of typical diets. The mean blue and green WF of diets was 737 l/capita/day and 2531 l/capita/day, respectively. Vegetables had the lowest WFs per unit mass of product, while roots/tubers had the lowest WFs per unit dietary energy. Poultry products had the greatest blue WFs. Wheat and rice contributed 31% and 19% of the dietary blue WF respectively. Vegetable oils were the highest contributor to dietary green WF. Regional variation in dietary choices meant large differences in dietary blue WFs, whereby northern diets had nearly 1.5 times greater blue WFs than southern diets. Urban diets had a higher blue WF than rural diets, and a higher standard of living was associated with larger dietary blue WFs. This study provides a novel perspective on the WF of diets in India using individual-level dietary data, and demonstrates important variability in WFs due to different food consumption patterns and socio-demographic characteristics. Future dietary shifts towards patterns currently consumed by individuals in higher income groups, would likely increase irrigation requirements putting substantial pressure on India's water resources.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The water use of Indian diets and socio-demographic factors related to dietary blue water footprint

Harris

Green

Joy

et al. 2017

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Several have argued that changing what we eat is an important component of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., Garnett, 2014;Baj zelj et al, 2014) and an individual's blue water scarcity footprint (Hess et al, 2015a) but most attempts to quantify the impact have focussed on substituting meat-based foods for plant-based foods in the diet. Here we have shown that dietary choices within food groups (in this case starchy carbohydrates) can significantly affect not only the overall environmental impact of food consumption, but also the geographical location of that impact.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although water is used in food processing and manufacture as an ingredient; for washing; and in the production of inputs (such as agrochemicals, fertilizers and energy); by far the largest proportion of the water consumed in food production relates to the growing of crops and raising of animals (Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2012). Hess et al (2015a) estimated that an average of 2400 l of water per person per day is required to produce the food consumed in the UK. Although only 7% of this is "blue" water, that is, withdrawn from surface and ground water resources (Falkenmark, 1995), much of this withdrawal occurs in locations that experience a higher degree of water stress, especially for foods imported from Spain, South Africa, Egypt and India.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of changing food choices on the blue water scarcity footprint and greenhouse gas emissions of the British diet: the example of potato, pasta and rice

Hess

Chatterton

Daccache

et al. 2016

Journal of Cleaner Production

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a b s t r a c tFood production is a major contributor to a country's environmental burden. However, the burdens associated with individual foods vary significantly due to differing agricultural systems and locations, post-harvest storage, manufacturing and transport requirements. Dietary choices can therefore have a significant impact on the overall burdens associated with food consumption. Previous studies have generally considered changes in the proportion of animal-based foods in the diet or changes to a vegetarian, or a vegan diet. Using a life cycle assessment approach and data from published sources supplemented by original analysis, we estimated the blue water scarcity footprint and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production, manufacture and distribution of three popular starchy carbohydrate foods as consumed in the United Kingdom e British fresh potatoes, Italian dried pasta and Indian dried basmati rice. Although similar to pasta in terms of greenhouse gas emissions per unit carbohydrate, when considered on the basis of typical portion size, potatoes have lower greenhouse gas emissions than pasta or basmati and the blue water scarcity footprint of basmati is two orders of magnitude greater than potatoes or pasta. The increasing preference for pasta and rice and reduction in household purchases of fresh potatoes in the United Kingdom over the period 1981e2010 has resulted in an increase in blue water scarcity footprint and a transfer of burdens from the United Kingdom to Italy and India, however the increased greenhouse gas emissions associated with rice and pasta has been, more or less, compensated by a reduction in emissions associated with purchases of potatoes. This paper has shown that dietary choices within food groups (in this case starchy carbohydrates) have a significant impact on an individual's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and blue water scarcity footprint. The life cycle assessment approach is useful for understanding where the impacts of dietary choices occur and can inform the supply chain about where efforts should be targeted to reduce those impacts.

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“…These include, on the environmental side, factors such as water stress and local availability of irrigation water, as well as pesticide use. The need for both may increase if diets higher in fruit and vegetables, as the Healthy Diet modelled here, supplied throughout the year are achieved (Eurostat 2007;Hess et al 2015).…”

Section: Other Related Health and Sustainability Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protein futures for Western Europe: potential land use and climate impacts in 2050

et al. 2016

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Multiple production and demand side measures are needed to improve food system sustainability. This study quantified the theoretical minimum agricultural land requirements to supply Western Europe with food in 2050 from its own land base, together with GHG emissions arising. Assuming that crop yield gaps in agriculture are closed, livestock production efficiencies increased and waste at all stages reduced, a range of food consumption scenarios were modelled each based on different ‘protein futures’. The scenarios were as follows: intensive and efficient livestock production using today’s species mix; intensive efficient poultry–dairy production; intensive efficient aquaculture–dairy; artificial meat and dairy; livestock on ‘ecological leftovers’ (livestock reared only on land unsuited to cropping, agricultural residues and food waste, with consumption capped at that level of availability); and a ‘plant-based eating’ scenario. For each scenario, ‘projected diet’ and ‘healthy diet’ variants were modelled. Finally, we quantified the theoretical maximum carbon sequestration potential from afforestation of spared agricultural land. Results indicate that land use could be cut by 14–86 % and GHG emissions reduced by up to approximately 90 %. The yearly carbon storage potential arising from spared agricultural land ranged from 90 to 700 Mt CO2 in 2050. The artificial meat and plant-based scenarios achieved the greatest land use and GHG reductions and the greatest carbon sequestration potential. The ‘ecological leftover’ scenario required the least cropland as compared with the other meat-containing scenarios, but all available pasture was used, and GHG emissions were higher if meat consumption was not capped at healthy levels.

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The impact of healthier dietary scenarios on the global blue water scarcity footprint of food consumption in the UK

Cited by 62 publications

References 24 publications

The water use of Indian diets and socio-demographic factors related to dietary blue water footprint

The water use of Indian diets and socio-demographic factors related to dietary blue water footprint

The impact of changing food choices on the blue water scarcity footprint and greenhouse gas emissions of the British diet: the example of potato, pasta and rice

Protein futures for Western Europe: potential land use and climate impacts in 2050

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