Protein efficiency per unit energy and per unit greenhouse gas emissions: Potential contribution of diet choices to climate change mitigation
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and transport to a port in Sweden (wholesale point) of 84 common food items of animal and vegetable origin.
About: This article is published in Food Policy.The article was published on 2011-10-01. It has received 293 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Greenhouse gas & Climate change mitigation.
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TL;DR: This work analysed 52 life cycle assessment studies of animal and vegetal sources of protein to identify the range of impacts and the most important factors thereof.
529 citations
Cites background from "Protein efficiency per unit energy ..."
...Other meta-publications on LCAs of food products include Yan et al. (2011), Roy et al. (2009), Flachowsky and Hachenberg (2009) and González et al. (2011)....
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University of Aberdeen1, Adria Airways2, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research3, Murdoch University4, University of Brasília5, University of Edinburgh6, National Autonomous University of Mexico7, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis8, Chalmers University of Technology9, University of Khartoum10, World Agroforestry Centre11, Indian Institute of Science12, Kansas State University13, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation14, African Development Bank15, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation16, International Livestock Research Institute17, University of Bristol18, Electric Power Research Institute19
TL;DR: An assessment of the mitigation potential possible in the AFOLU sector under possible future scenarios in which demand-side measures codeliver to aid food security concludes that while supply-side mitigation measures, such as changes in land management, might either enhance or negatively impact food security, demand- side mitigation measures should benefit both food security and greenhouse gas mitigation.
Abstract: Feeding 9-10billion people by 2050 and preventing dangerous climate change are two of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Both challenges must be met while reducing the impact of land management on ecosystem services that deliver vital goods and services, and support human health and well-being. Few studies to date have considered the interactions between these challenges. In this study we briefly outline the challenges, review the supply- and demand-side climate mitigation potential available in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use AFOLU sector and options for delivering food security. We briefly outline some of the synergies and trade-offs afforded by mitigation practices, before presenting an assessment of the mitigation potential possible in the AFOLU sector under possible future scenarios in which demand-side measures codeliver to aid food security. We conclude that while supply-side mitigation measures, such as changes in land management, might either enhance or negatively impact food security, demand-side mitigation measures, such as reduced waste or demand for livestock products, should benefit both food security and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. Demand-side measures offer a greater potential (1.5-15.6Gt CO2-eq. yr(-1)) in meeting both challenges than do supply-side measures (1.5-4.3Gt CO2-eq. yr(-1) at carbon prices between 20 and 100US$ tCO(2)-eq. yr(-1)), but given the enormity of challenges, all options need to be considered. Supply-side measures should be implemented immediately, focussing on those that allow the production of more agricultural product per unit of input. For demand-side measures, given the difficulties in their implementation and lag in their effectiveness, policy should be introduced quickly, and should aim to codeliver to other policy agenda, such as improving environmental quality or improving dietary health. These problems facing humanity in the 21st Century are extremely challenging, and policy that addresses multiple objectives is required now more than ever.
507 citations
Cites background from "Protein efficiency per unit energy ..."
...This also holds for GHG emissions per unit of protein, when animal-based and plant-based protein supply is compared (Gonz alez et al., 2011)....
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TL;DR: In the face of demographic change and a gr... as mentioned in this paper argues that contemporary food production and consumption cannot be regarded as sustainable and raises problems with its wide scope involving diverse actors, and furthermore, it cannot be considered as sustainable.
Abstract: Contemporary food production and consumption cannot be regarded as sustainable and raises problems with its wide scope involving diverse actors. Moreover, in the face of demographic change and a gr...
480 citations
TL;DR: Dietary GHG emissions in self-selected meat-eaters are approximately twice as high as those in vegans, and it is likely that reductions in meat consumption would lead to reductions in dietaryGHG emissions.
Abstract: The production of animal-based foods is associated with higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than plant-based foods. The objective of this study was to estimate the difference in dietary GHG emissions between self-selected meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK. Subjects were participants in the EPIC-Oxford cohort study. The diets of 2,041 vegans, 15,751 vegetarians, 8,123 fish-eaters and 29,589 meat-eaters aged 20–79 were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Comparable GHG emissions parameters were developed for the underlying food codes using a dataset of GHG emissions for 94 food commodities in the UK, with a weighting for the global warming potential of each component gas. The average GHG emissions associated with a standard 2,000 kcal diet were estimated for all subjects. ANOVA was used to estimate average dietary GHG emissions by diet group adjusted for sex and age. The age-and-sex-adjusted mean (95 % confidence interval) GHG emissions in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents per day (kgCO2e/day) were 7.19 (7.16, 7.22) for high meat-eaters ( > = 100 g/d), 5.63 (5.61, 5.65) for medium meat-eaters (50-99 g/d), 4.67 (4.65, 4.70) for low meat-eaters ( < 50 g/d), 3.91 (3.88, 3.94) for fish-eaters, 3.81 (3.79, 3.83) for vegetarians and 2.89 (2.83, 2.94) for vegans. In conclusion, dietary GHG emissions in self-selected meat-eaters are approximately twice as high as those in vegans. It is likely that reductions in meat consumption would lead to reductions in dietary GHG emissions.
463 citations
Cites background from "Protein efficiency per unit energy ..."
...…of GHG emissions related to different food groups, with animal-based products generally having much greater emissions than plant-based products per unit weight (Audsley et al. 2009; Carlsson-Kanyama and Gonzalez 2009; Committee on Climate Change 2010; Gonzalez et al. 2011; Steinfeld et al. 2006)....
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TL;DR: If formulated into palatable and nutritionally adequate products, plant-based substitutes can offer a sustainable alternative to dairy products.
Abstract: A growing number of consumers opt for plant-based milk substitutes for medical reasons or as a lifestyle choice. Medical reasons include lactose intolerance, with a worldwide prevalence of 75%, and cow's milk allergy. Also, in countries where mammal milk is scarce and expensive, plant milk substitutes serve as a more affordable option. However, many of these products have sensory characteristics objectionable to the mainstream western palate. Technologically, plant milk substitutes are suspensions of dissolved and disintegrated plant material in water, resembling cow's milk in appearance. They are manufactured by extracting the plant material in water, separating the liquid, and formulating the final product. Homogenization and thermal treatments are necessary to improve the suspension and microbial stabilities of commercial products that can be consumed as such or be further processed into fermented dairy-type products. The nutritional properties depend on the plant source, processing, and fortification. As some products have extremely low protein and calcium contents, consumer awareness is important when plant milk substitutes are used to replace cow's milk in the diet, e.g. in the case of dairy intolerances. If formulated into palatable and nutritionally adequate products, plant-based substitutes can offer a sustainable alternative to dairy products.
330 citations
Cites background from "Protein efficiency per unit energy ..."
...Gonz alez et al. (2011) estimated the so-called protein delivery efficiency GHG values (g protein/kg CO2-eq) for a range of foodstuffs....
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References
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01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the full impact of the livestock sector on environmental problems, along with potential technical and policy approaches to mitigation, and suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.
Abstract: Presentation de l'editeur : This report aims to assess the full impact of the livestock sector on environmental problems, along with potential technical and policy approaches to mitigation. The assessment takes into account direct impacts, along with the impacts of feed crop agriculture required for livestock production. The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Livestock's contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency. Major reductions in impact could be achieved at reasonable cost
3,911 citations
"Protein efficiency per unit energy ..." refers background in this paper
...Other authors have estimated that 18% of global GHG emissions are due to livestock consumption (Steinfeld et al., 2006)....
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...…a change in diet as a means to mitigate climate change and other environmental footprints of food consumption (Carlsson-Kanyama, 1998; Duchin, 2005; Steinfeld et al., 2006; McMichael et al., 2007; Garnett, 2009; Carlsson-Kanyama and González, 2009; Friel et al., 2009; Stehfest et al., 2009)....
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...Environmental impacts not directly related to climate change, such as water use and eutrophication (Steinfeld et al., 2006) or deforestation and desertification (Asner et al., 2004), can also be relevant impacts from livestock production....
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TL;DR: Prevention will be the most cost-effective and feasible approach for many countries and should involve three mutually reinforcing strategies throughout life, starting in the antenatal period.
Abstract: Objective: To briefly review the current understanding of the aetiology and prevention of chronic diseases using a life course approach, demonstrating the lifelong influences on the development of disease. Design: A computer search of the relevant literature was done using Medline-‘life cycle’ and ‘nutrition’ and reviewing the articles for relevance in addressing the above objective. Articles from references dated before 1990 were followed up separately. A subsequent search using Clio updated the search and extended it by using ‘life cycle’, ‘nutrition’ and ‘noncommunicable disease’ (NCD), and ‘life course’. Several published and unpublished WHO reports were key in developing the background and arguments. Setting: International and national public health and nutrition policy development in light of the global epidemic in chronic diseases, and the continuing nutrition, demographic and epidemiological transitions happening in an increasingly globalized world. Results of review: There is a global epidemic of increasing obesity, diabetes and other chronic NCDs, especially in developing and transitional economies, and in the less affluent within these, and in the developed countries. At the same time, there has been an increase in communities and households that have coincident under- and over-nutrition. Conclusions: The epidemic will continue to increase and is due to a lifetime of exposures and influences. Genetic predisposition plays an unspecified role, and with programming during fetal life for adult disease contributing to an unknown degree. A global rise in obesity levels is contributing to a particular epidemic of type 2 diabetes as well as other NCDs. Prevention will be the most cost-effective and feasible approach for many countries and should involve three mutually reinforcing strategies throughout life, starting in the antenatal period.
2,984 citations
TL;DR: Cross-country and in-depth analysis of the China study is used and shows the shifts in diet and activity are consistent with the rapid changes in child and adult obesity and in some cases have been causally linked.
Abstract: Changes in diet and activity patterns are fueling the obesity epidemic. These rapid changes in the levels and composition of dietary and activity/inactivity patterns in transitional societies are related to a number of socioeconomic and demographic changes. Using data mainly from large nationally representative and nationwide surveys, such as the 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1997 China Health and Nutrition Surveys, in combination with comparative analysis across the regions of the world, we examine these factors. First, we show the shifts in diet and activity are consistent with the rapid changes in child and adult obesity and in some cases have been causally linked. We then provide a few examples of the rapid changes in the structure of diet and activity, in particular associated with increased income. Cross-country and in-depth analysis of the China study are used to explore these relationships. People living in urban areas consume diets distinctly different from those of their rural counterparts. One of the more profound effects is the accelerated change in the structure of diet, only partially explained by economic factors. A second is the emergence of a large proportion of families with both currently malnourished and overweight members as is shown by comparative analysis of a number of Asian and Latin American countries.
1,397 citations
"Protein efficiency per unit energy ..." refers background in this paper
...On the other hand, obesity is a growing problem for the increasingly sedentary urban population, even in developing countries (Popkin, 2001), so providing less energy dense foods of vegetarian origin could avert both the obesity epidemic and the climate change problem (Michaelowa and Dransfeld,…...
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