González-García Sara, Green Rosemary F, Scheelbeek Pauline F, Harris Francesca, Dangour Alan D
CRETUS Institute, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.
J Clean Prod. 2020 Jan 17;254:120125. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120125. eCollection 2020 May 1.
Global food demand is increasing due to population growth and dietary transitions, resulting from rising incomes, are associated with increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Improving the sustainability of the food sector is also critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This study assesses for the first time the greenhouse gases emissions (Carbon Footprint - CF), the water footprint (WF) and the cost of three omnivorous diets recommended in Spain due to their health benefits: the Mediterranean diet (MD), the Southern European Atlantic diet (SEAD) and the Spanish dietary guidelines (NAOS). Analysis was conducted using standard Life Cycle Assessment and WF methods together with current Spanish food price data. The dietary energy recommendation of the SEAD is greater than that of MD and NAOS (11 and 15% respectively), and SEAD also has greater animal source food content than the other two diets. SEAD has a concomitantly higher CF, WF and cost scores in comparison with MD (+30%, +23% and +21% respectively) and NAOS (+15%, +9% and +21% respectively). Adjusting recommendations to meet the suggested Spanish adult dietary energy of 2228 kcal.capita.day changed the environmental profiles of the diets and the NAOS has the highest environmental impact. However, the isocaloric diets had approximately the same cost. Analysis of the WF of the diets identified the major contribution of precipitation (the green WF) to the overall WF (88% of the total) and the significant contribution of animal-source foods to dietary WF. Regardless of the dietary scenario, better scores were identified for the Spanish recommendations analysed than those reported for other healthy diets identified in Europe. Differences in the recommended intake levels of certain food groups, cooking techniques and the origin of food products are behind these results. Environmental indicators should be considered alongside nutrition and health metrics when defining national dietary guidelines. Supporting citizens to follow healthy and environmentally-friendly dietary recommendations through, among other things, information campaigns and nutritional education programmes is essential. It is recommended the incorporation not only of health, but also of environmental indicators of these dietary options in the national dietary guidelines, as well as implementation of information campaigns and nutritional education programs among citizens to promote their adhesion since balanced dietary habits rich on plant-based products and low on animal-based ones involve multiple health and environmental benefits.
由于人口增长以及收入增加导致的饮食结构转变，全球粮食需求不断上升，这与非传染性疾病患病率的增加有关。提高食品部门的可持续性对于实现可持续发展目标也至关重要。本研究首次评估了西班牙推荐的三种杂食性饮食因其健康益处而产生的温室气体排放（碳足迹 - CF）、水足迹（WF）和成本：地中海饮食（MD）、南欧大西洋饮食（SEAD）和西班牙饮食指南（NAOS）。使用标准生命周期评估和水足迹方法以及当前西班牙食品价格数据进行了分析。SEAD的膳食能量推荐量高于MD和NAOS（分别高出11%和15%），并且SEAD的动物源食物含量也高于其他两种饮食。与MD（分别高出30%、23%和21%）和NAOS（分别高出15%、9%和21%）相比，SEAD相应地具有更高的CF、WF和成本得分。调整推荐量以满足西班牙成年人建议的每日膳食能量2228千卡/人，改变了这些饮食的环境概况，并且NAOS具有最高的环境影响。然而，等热量饮食的成本大致相同。对这些饮食的水足迹分析确定了降水（绿水足迹）对总水足迹的主要贡献（占总量的88%）以及动物源食物对膳食水足迹的显著贡献。无论饮食方案如何，与欧洲其他已确定的健康饮食相比，分析的西班牙饮食建议得分更高。某些食物组推荐摄入量水平、烹饪技术和食品来源的差异是这些结果的背后原因。在制定国家饮食指南时，应将环境指标与营养和健康指标一并考虑。通过信息宣传活动和营养教育计划等方式，支持公民遵循健康和环保的饮食建议至关重要。建议在国家饮食指南中不仅纳入这些饮食选择的健康指标，还纳入环境指标，并在公民中开展信息宣传活动和营养教育计划，以促进他们的接受，因为富含植物性产品且动物性产品含量低的均衡饮食习惯具有多种健康和环境益处。
