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Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers

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The global impacts of food production Food is produced and processed by millions of farmers and intermediaries globally, with substantial associated environmental costs. Given the heterogeneity of producers, what is the best way to reduce food's environmental impacts? Poore and Nemecek consolidated data on the multiple environmental impacts of ∼38,000 farms producing 40 different agricultural goods around the world in a meta-analysis comparing various types of food production systems. The environmental cost of producing the same goods can be highly variable. However, this heterogeneity creates opportunities to target the small numbers of producers that have the most impact. Science , this issue p. 987
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... Moreover, animal agriculture itself was demonstrated to be responsible for up to 20% of global CO 2 emissions [6]. A meta-analysis of the environmental impacts of over 38,000 agricultural farms producing various food goods worldwide demonstrated that beef, lamb, mutton, and dairy had the highest carbon footprint [7]. ...
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Background/Objectives: Analyzing the carbon footprint of diets in various populations is important as it can help identify more sustainable food choices that reduce the overall impact of human activities on ongoing warming of the global climate. This pilot exploratory study analyzed the carbon footprint (measured in kg of CO2 equivalent, eq.) using food diaries collected from Polish individuals with varying levels of animal-derived product exclusion in their diets. Methods: The study employed a food diary method, where participants from four dietary groups (vegan, vegetarian, fish-eater, and meat-eater) recorded all meals and beverages consumed over a 7-day period, including portion sizes and packaging details. These diaries were then analyzed to assess dietary adherence and calculate carbon footprints, utilizing standardized CO2 equivalent emission data from publicly available databases. Results: The analysis revealed a decreasing trend in the carbon footprint corresponding to the degree of elimination of animal-derived products from the diet (R2 = 0.96, p = 0.0217). The mean daily footprint in the vegan group was 1.38 kg CO2eq., which was significantly lower than in the vegetarian (2.45), fish-eater (2.72), and meat-eater groups (3.62). For each 1000 kcal, the meat-eater diet generated 39.7, 58.3, and 93.9% more CO 2 eq. than in the case of fish-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans, respectively. Over a week, a group of 10 vegans had a total carbon footprint lower than vegetarians, fish-eaters, and meat-eaters by 42.9, 52.2, and 61.8%, respectively. Hard and mozzarella cheese had the highest contribution to the carbon footprint in vegetarians, fish, and seafood in fish-eaters, and poultry, pork, and beef had the highest contribution in meat-eaters. Conclusions: Dietary carbon footprints vary considerably by dietary pattern, with lower consumption of animal-derived products associated with lower emissions. Additionally, identifying specific high-impact food items within each diet may inform strategies for reducing environmental impact across various eating patterns.
... inputs and use less land and water while emitting fewer greenhouse gases, making them a more sustainable option. Moreover, in an optimized continuous process, the desirable fibrous structure can be achieved without additives, further enhancing their environmental benefits (Ozturk et al. 2023;Poore and Nemecek 2018). However, the processing of plant-based meat, particularly through high-moisture extrusion (HME), which transforms plant proteins into fibrous structures by heating and pressurizing them to resemble the texture of animal meat, can be energy-intensive and may partially offset some of these environmental advantages (Dekkers et al. 2018). ...
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... If meat consumption stayed the same, there would not be enough land to transition from concentrated animal feed operations to free-range animals (FAO 2020;Stanescu 2010). It has been suggested that increasing animal productivity may reduce environmental impact (Poore and Nemecek 2018) but it comes at the cost of animal welfare. ...
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