Diets within Environmental Limits: The Climate Impact of Current and Recommended Australian Diets.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ridoutt B
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8065846 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectivesDietary environmental impact in a Norwegian adult population was estimated for six environmental impact categories. Moreover, environmental benefits of scenario diets complying with the Norwegian Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) and the EAT-Lancet reference diet were assessed.DesignThe current diet of Norwegian adults was estimated according to 24-h dietary recall data from a national dietary surveillance survey (Norkost 3). Scenario diets were modelled to represent the Norwegian FBDG and the EAT-Lancet healthy reference diet. Dietary environmental impact in terms of global warming potential, freshwater and marine eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, water use and transformation and use of land was estimated for the current and scenario diets using environmental impact data representative of the Norwegian market. Significant associations between impact and gender/educational attainment were assessed at P < 0·05.SettingNorway.ParticipantsAdults (n=1787) aged 18-70 years who participated in the Norkost 3 survey (2010-2011).ResultsEnvironmental impact varied significantly by gender and educational attainment. The food groups contributing most to environmental impact of Norwegian diets were meat, dairy, beverages, grains and composite dishes. Compared with the current Norwegian diet, the FBDG scenario reduced impacts from 2 % (freshwater eutrophication) to 32 % (water use), while the EAT-Lancet scenario reduced impacts from 7 % (marine eutrophication) to 61 % (land use). The EAT-Lancet scenario resulted in 3-48 % larger reductions in impact than the FBDG scenario.ConclusionsThe Norwegian FBDG, while not as environmentally friendly as the EAT-Lancet reference diet, can still be an important tool in lessening environmental burden of Norwegian diets.
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Project description:ObjectiveTo compare the cost and affordability of two fortnightly diets (representing the national guidelines and current consumption) across areas containing Australia's major supermarkets.DesignThe Healthy Diets Australian Standardised Affordability and Pricing protocol was used.SettingPrice data were collected online and via phone calls in fifty-one urban and inner regional locations across Australia.ParticipantsNot applicable.ResultsHealthy diets were consistently less expensive than current (unhealthy) diets. Nonetheless, healthy diets would cost 25-26 % of the disposable income for low-income households and 30-31 % of the poverty line. Differences in gross incomes (the most available income metric which overrepresents disposable income) drove national variations in diet affordability (from 14 % of the median gross household incomes in the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory to 25 % of the median gross household income in Tasmania).ConclusionsIn Australian cities and regional areas with major supermarkets, access to affordable diets remains problematic for families receiving low incomes. These findings are likely to be exacerbated in outer regional and remote areas (not included in this study). To make healthy diets economically appealing, policies that reduce the (absolute and relative) costs of healthy diets and increase the incomes of Australians living in poverty are required.
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Project description:Plant-based diets provide well-established physical and environmental health benefits. These benefits stem in part from the degree of restriction of animal-derived foods. Historically, meat and other animal-derived proteins have been viewed as an integral component of athletes' diets, leading some to question the adequacy of vegetarian or vegan diets for supporting athletic performance. The purpose of this review is to examine the impact of plant-based diets on human physical health, environmental sustainability, and exercise performance capacity. Based on currently available literature, it is unlikely that plant-based diets provide advantages, but do not suffer from disadvantages, compared to omnivorous diets for strength, anaerobic, or aerobic exercise performance. However, plant-based diets typically reduce the risk of developing numerous chronic diseases over the lifespan and require fewer natural resources for production compared to meat-containing diets. As such, plant-based diets appear to be viable options for adequately supporting athletic performance while concurrently contributing to overall physical and environmental health. Given the sparse literature comparing omnivore, vegetarian, and vegan athletes, particularly at the elite level, further research is warranted to ascertain differences that might appear at the highest levels of training and athletic performance.
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Project description:Drought frequently limits Australian wheat production, and the expected future increase in temperatures and rainfall variability will further challenge productivity. A modelling approach captured plant×environment×management interactions to simulate water-stress patterns experienced by wheat crops at representative locations across the Australian wheatbelt for 33 climate model projections, considering the 'business as usual' emission scenario RCP8.5. The results indicate that projections of future water-stress patterns are region specific. Significant variations in projected impacts were found across climate models, providing local ranges of uncertainty to consider in planning efforts. Most climate models projected an increase in the frequency of severe water-stress conditions in the Western area, the largest producing region, and fewer severe water stresses in other regions. Where found, reductions in water-stress conditions were largely due to shorter crop cycles (a result of warmer temperatures), increased water use efficiency (resulting from increased CO2 levels), and, in some cases, increased local rainfall. Overall, simulations indicate that all areas of the Australian wheatbelt will continue to experience severe water-stress conditions (43.9, 42.6, and 40.2% for 2030, 2050, and 2070 compared with 42.8% for 1990). Given projected frequencies of severe water stress and warmer conditions, efforts towards maintaining or improving yields are essential.
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Project description:Background and aimsAlthough extreme climatic events such as drought are known to modify forest dynamics by triggering tree dieback, the impact of extreme cold events, especially at the low-latitude margin ('rear edge') of species distributional ranges, has received little attention. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of one such extreme cold event on a population of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) along the species' European southern rear-edge range limit and to determine how such events can be incorporated into species distribution models (SDMs).MethodsA combination of dendrochronology and field observation was used to quantify how an extreme cold event in 2001 in eastern Spain affected growth, needle loss and mortality of Scots pine. Long-term European climatic data sets were used to contextualize the severity of the 2001 event, and an SDM for Scots pine in Europe was used to predict climatic range limits.Key resultsThe 2001 winter reached record minimum temperatures (equivalent to the maximum European-wide diurnal ranges) and, for trees already stressed by a preceding dry summer and autumn, this caused dieback and large-scale mortality. Needle loss and mortality were particularly evident in south-facing sites, where post-event recovery was greatly reduced. The SDM predicted European Scots pine distribution mainly on the basis of responses to maximum and minimum monthly temperatures, but in comparison with this the observed effects of the 2001 cold event at the southerly edge of the range limit were unforeseen.ConclusionsThe results suggest that in order to better forecast how anthropogenic climate change might affect future forest distributions, distribution modelling techniques such as SDMs must incorporate climatic extremes. For Scots pine, this study shows that the effects of cold extremes should be included across the entire distribution margin, including the southern 'rear edge', in order to avoid biased predictions based solely on warmer climatic scenarios.
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Project description:Food systems contribute greatly to global climate change due to their substantial contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and resource allocation. In addition, current food systems fail to deliver healthy and sustainable foods for all, with obesity as well as undernourishment remaining a pertinent global issue. Mounting pressures such as population growth and urbanisation urge rapid and transformational adaptations in food systems to sustainably feed a growing population. Sustainable diets have been promoted as a potential climate change mitigation strategy, and are characterized by high plant based foods and reduced animal-sourced and processed foods. While the evidence base on the potential health and environmental impacts of shifts towards sustainable diets has been growing rapidly over the past decade, there has been no recent synthesis of the evidence surrounding the health and climate mitigation benefits of sustainable consumption patterns. This systematic review will synthesize the evidence of both empirical and modelling studies assessing the direct health outcomes (such as all-cause mortality and body mass index) as well as environmental impacts (greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use etc.) of shifts towards sustainable diets. Eight literature databases will be searched to identify studies published between 1999-2019 that report both health and environmental outcomes of sustainable diets. Evidence will be mapped and subsequently analysed based on the comparability of results and reported outcomes.
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