Merki: Environmental impact

Ritrýndar greinar

Greenhouse gas emissions of environmentally sustainable diets: Insights from the Icelandic National Dietary Survey 2019–2021

Abstract

Background

Health authorities are increasingly integrating environmental sustainability considerations into food-based dietary guidelines. However, concerns persist about the accuracy of the data used to assess environmental impacts, as well as the extent to which these guidelines are followed in practice.

Aim

To compare dietary greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions estimates using different top-down and bottom-up life cycle assessment (LCA) databases; and to estimate GHG emissions of food consumption within the ranges set for meat and dairy in recently proposed environmentally sustainable diets.

Methods

Dietary GHG emissions were estimated for participants in the 2019–2021 Icelandic National Dietary Survey (n = 822) using three publicly available LCA databases from Denmark, the US, and France. GHG emissions among participants whose consumption was aligned with the EAT-Lancet diet, the 2021 Danish food-based dietary guidelines and the 2023 Nordic Nutrition Recommendations were also quantified.

Results

The mean dietary GHG emissions among participants were 6.3, 6.1, and 6.1 kg CO2-eq/day based on the Danish (top-down), US (bottom-up), and French (bottom-up) databases, respectively. The relative ranking of foods was also consistent across all three databases. For example, the relative contribution of total CO2-eq (% range for the three databases) was highest for red meat (39–51%), followed by dairy (10–17%) and beverages (9–13%). The contribution from plant-based foods (6–10%), seafood (4–11%), and poultry/eggs (<5%) was modest. The dietary habits of most participants (86%) were outside the ranges for meat and dairy consumption as set by the three sustainable diets. However, participants reporting consumption within the ranges for meat and dairy had mean GHG emissions ranging between 4.2 and 4.7 kg CO2-eq/day, depending on the diet. In comparison, the mean for participants not adhering to the sustainable diets was 7.7 kg CO2-eq/day. These results are higher than those reported in other Nordic and European studies, likely due to high consumption of lamb, beef, and dairy, and low consumption of plant-based food.

Conclusion

All three LCA databases provided similar estimates for total dietary GHG emissions and relative ranking of different food groups. Based on current dietary habits in Iceland, adherence to environmentally sustainable diets would lead to a substantial reduction in dietary GHG emissions.

Skýrslur

Úrlausnir vegna umhverfisáhrifa við losun slógs

Útgefið:

01/09/2007

Höfundar:

Heimir Tryggvason, Guðrún Anna Finnbogadóttir

Styrkt af:

AVS rannsóknasjóður í sjávarútvegi

Úrlausnir vegna umhverfisáhrifa við losun slógs

Á undanförnum árum og áratugum hefur verið leitað að viðunandi lausnum við losun á slógi. Talsverð áhersla hefur verið lögð á á að finna leiðir til að vinna slógið í nýtanlegar afurðir sem hægt væri selja. Hefur þessi vinna einkum verið unnin af einstaklingum, samtökum og stofnunum. Í þessu sambandi má nefna áætlanir um meltuvinnslu úr slógi til fóðurgerðar, en þær tilraunir voru komnar vel á veg um miðjan níunda áratug síðustu aldar. Segja má að vandamálið við vinnslu slógs sé tvíþætt. Slógið skemmist mjög hratt, sem veldur því að erfitt er að nýta það í vissar afurðir. Í öðru lagi er flutningskostnaður hár miðað við verðmæti þeirrar vöru sem unnin er úr slógi. Mjög misjafnt er eftir aðstæðum á hverjum stað hvernig losun slógs er háttað, en vaxandi áhersla á umhverfismál á undanförnum árum hefur kynt undir gamlar hugmyndir um nýtingu slógs.

In recent years, a considerable effort has been made to ensure a proper disposal of viscera from fish processing. The emphasis has been on processes that could return a marketable product. In the late 20th Century a lot of this work was focused on silage production. There are mainly two major problems with regard to the processing of viscera: Firstly, viscera spoils very rapidly, which makes it difficult to use in many products. Secondly, the cost of transportation is very high compared to the value of the products processed from viscera. Handling of viscera is very diverse in different places but increased emphasis on environmental issues has raised the issue of utilization again.

Skoða skýrslu
IS
EN IS