IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agisys/v136y2015icp14-29.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Possible implications of dietary changes on nutrient fluxes, environment and land use in Austria

Author

Listed:
  • Thaler, S.
  • Zessner, M.
  • Weigl, M.
  • Rechberger, H.
  • Schilling, K.
  • Kroiss, H.

Abstract

Health recommendations clearly show that in Austria and other highly developed countries less animal and more plant based food should be consumed. A meat based diet is held responsible for a number of environmental problems. We explore the impacts on nutrient fluxes (nitrogen and phosphorus) and land use as the result of a change from a meat based diet to a healthier balanced diet consisting of less animal based products and more plant based food in Austria. We use a detailed material flow analysis and the nutrient emissions model MONERIS in combination with scenarios. The scenarios address differing farming methods, varying trade options and different use of potentially available agricultural area. Our findings show that overall, a shift to a healthy balanced diet leads to less land being used for agricultural production (−30%), less resource consumption (20% to 25% less phosphorus) and lower transfer of nutrients from agriculture into the environment compared to the reference situation. Total emissions of nitrogen and phosphorus into water decrease (between 15% and 11% for nitrogen and by 5% to 6% for phosphorus) and nitrogen concentrations in groundwater change substantially depending on the intensity of farming assumed by different scenarios.

Suggested Citation

  • Thaler, S. & Zessner, M. & Weigl, M. & Rechberger, H. & Schilling, K. & Kroiss, H., 2015. "Possible implications of dietary changes on nutrient fluxes, environment and land use in Austria," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 14-29.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:136:y:2015:i:c:p:14-29
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2015.01.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X15000074
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agsy.2015.01.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nonhebel, Sanderine, 2005. "Renewable energy and food supply: will there be enough land?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 191-201, April.
    2. Harvey, Mark & Pilgrim, Sarah, 2011. "The new competition for land: Food, energy, and climate change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(S1), pages 40-51.
    3. Rosamond L. Naylor & Rebecca J. Goldburg & Jurgenne H. Primavera & Nils Kautsky & Malcolm C. M. Beveridge & Jason Clay & Carl Folke & Jane Lubchenco & Harold Mooney & Max Troell, 2000. "Effect of aquaculture on world fish supplies," Nature, Nature, vol. 405(6790), pages 1017-1024, June.
    4. Harvey, Mark & Pilgrim, Sarah, 2011. "The new competition for land: Food, energy, and climate change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 40-51, January.
    5. Risku-Norja, Helmi & Maenpaa, Ilmo, 2007. "MFA model to assess economic and environmental consequences of food production and consumption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(4), pages 700-711, February.
    6. Rickard, Bradley J. & Gonsalves, Jana L., 2008. "How would compliance with dietary recommendations affect revenues for agricultural producers?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 422-433, October.
    7. Renault, D. & Wallender, W. W., 2000. "Nutritional water productivity and diets," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 275-296, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Coppens, Joeri & Meers, Erik & Boon, Nico & Buysse, Jeroen & Vlaeminck, Siegfried E., 2016. "Follow the N and P road: High-resolution nutrient flow analysis of the Flanders region as precursor for sustainable resource management," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 9-21.
    2. Yue, Wencong & Su, Meirong & Cai, Yanpeng & Rong, Qiangqiang & Tan, Zhenkun, 2021. "Reactive nitrogen loss from livestock-based food and biofuel production systems considering climate change and dietary transition," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    3. Michael Jedelhauser & Jonas Mehr & Claudia R. Binder, 2018. "Transition of the Swiss Phosphorus System towards a Circular Economy—Part 2: Socio-Technical Scenarios," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Jäger, Hieronymus & Peratoner, Giovanni & Tappeiner, Ulrike & Tasser, Erich, 2020. "Grassland biomass balance in the European Alps: current and future ecosystem service perspectives," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    5. Paul J. A. Withers & Donnacha G. Doody & Roger Sylvester-Bradley, 2018. "Achieving Sustainable Phosphorus Use in Food Systems through Circularisation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrew Adewale Alola & Uju Violet Alola, 2018. "Agricultural land usage and tourism impact on renewable energy consumption among Coastline Mediterranean Countries," Energy & Environment, , vol. 29(8), pages 1438-1454, December.
    2. Iriarte, Alfredo & Rieradevall, Joan & Gabarrell, Xavier, 2012. "Transition towards a more environmentally sustainable biodiesel in South America: The case of Chile," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 263-273.
    3. Vik, Jostein, 2020. "The agricultural policy trilemma: On the wicked nature of agricultural policy making," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    4. Mercure, J.-F. & Paim, M.A. & Bocquillon, P. & Lindner, S. & Salas, P. & Martinelli, P. & Berchin, I.I. & de Andrade Guerra, J.B.S.O & Derani, C. & de Albuquerque Junior, C.L. & Ribeiro, J.M.P. & Knob, 2019. "System complexity and policy integration challenges: The Brazilian Energy- Water-Food Nexus," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 230-243.
    5. Ozgul Calicioglu & Alessandro Flammini & Stefania Bracco & Lorenzo Bellù & Ralph Sims, 2019. "The Future Challenges of Food and Agriculture: An Integrated Analysis of Trends and Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, January.
    6. Ciliberti, Carlo & Jordaan, Sarah M. & Smith, Stephen V. & Spatari, Sabrina, 2016. "A life cycle perspective on land use and project economics of electricity from wind and anaerobic digestion," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 52-63.
    7. Cao, Yan & Doustgani, Amir & Salehi, Abozar & Nemati, Mohammad & Ghasemi, Amir & Koohshekan, Omid, 2020. "The economic evaluation of establishing a plant for producing biodiesel from edible oil wastes in oil-rich countries: Case study Iran," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    8. Emmann, Carsten H. & Schaper, Christian & Theuvsen, Ludwig, 2012. "Der Markt für Bioenergie 2012," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 61(Supplemen), pages 1-20, February.
    9. Emmann, Carsten H. & Schaper, Christian & Theuvsen, Ludwig, 2011. "Der Markt für Bioenergie 2012," Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, vol. 61.
    10. Tiffany L. Fess & James B. Kotcon & Vagner A. Benedito, 2011. "Crop Breeding for Low Input Agriculture: A Sustainable Response to Feed a Growing World Population," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(10), pages 1-31, October.
    11. de Jong, Sierk & Hoefnagels, Ric & Wetterlund, Elisabeth & Pettersson, Karin & Faaij, André & Junginger, Martin, 2017. "Cost optimization of biofuel production – The impact of scale, integration, transport and supply chain configurations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 1055-1070.
    12. Bose, Arnab & Ramji, Aditya & Singh, Jarnail & Dholakia, Dhairya, 2012. "A case study for sustainable development action using financial gradients," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(S1), pages 79-86.
    13. Xiao Lyu & Yanan Wang & Yuntai Zhao & Shandong Niu, 2022. "Spatio‐temporal pattern and mechanism of coordinated development of “population–land–industry–money” in rural areas of three provinces in Northeast China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 1333-1361, September.
    14. Till Hermanns & Katharina Helming & Katharina Schmidt & Hannes Jochen König & Heiko Faust, 2015. "Stakeholder Strategies for Sustainability Impact Assessment of Land Use Scenarios: Analytical Framework and Identifying Land Use Claims," Land, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-29, September.
    15. Lisa Biber-Freudenberger & Amit Kumar Basukala & Martin Bruckner & Jan Börner, 2018. "Sustainability Performance of National Bio-Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, August.
    16. Luís Carmo-Calado & Manuel Jesús Hermoso-Orzáez & Roberta Mota-Panizio & Bruno Guilherme-Garcia & Paulo Brito, 2020. "Co-Combustion of Waste Tires and Plastic-Rubber Wastes with Biomass Technical and Environmental Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-19, February.
    17. Ruci Wang & Ahmed Derdouri & Yuji Murayama, 2018. "Spatiotemporal Simulation of Future Land Use/Cover Change Scenarios in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, June.
    18. Carlo Carraro & Marinella Davide & Valeria Barbi & Giacomo Marangoni, 2013. "Science adva ncements, policy immobility: the two fac es of climate (in)action," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2013(3), pages 5-29.
    19. Qi-Qi CHEN & Jun-Biao ZHANG & Yu HUO, 2016. "A study on research hot-spots and frontiers of agricultural science and technology innovation - visualization analysis based on the Citespace III," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 62(9), pages 429-445.
    20. Hermanns, Till & Helming, Katharina & König, Hannes J. & Schmidt, Katharina & Li, Qirui & Faust, Heiko, 2017. "Sustainability impact assessment of peatland-use scenarios: Confronting land use supply with demand," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 26(PB), pages 365-376.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:136:y:2015:i:c:p:14-29. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.