IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v131y2017icp389-398.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Proposing a Novel Index Reflecting Both Climate Impact and Nutritional Impact of Food Products

Author

Listed:
  • van Dooren, Corné
  • Douma, Annely
  • Aiking, Harry
  • Vellinga, Pier

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore the relations between the climate impact of food products and their nutritional characteristics, in order to propose a nutrient density index that quantifies these relations. Our study is based on the nutritional characteristics of the 403 most consumed food products in the Netherlands. Metabolic energy density,11Definitions:Energy density is the total metabolic energy per weight unit of a food product (total kcal/100g product). This value is determined by the proportion of the different macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates) and the water content.Nutrient Density: Dietary Guidelines for Americans (USDA, 2005, 2010) define nutrient-dense foods as those ‘that provide substantial amounts of vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) and relatively few calories.’ Examples are whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, and all legumes, vegetables, and fruits (WHO, 2003).NRFx.y: Nutrient Rich Foods index, including x nutrients which should be encouraged and y nutrients which should be limited (Drewnowski, 2009).Essential fatty acids (EFA) are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and consist of two groups: n−3 and n−6 fatty acids. Linoleic acid (LA) is an n−6. Alpha linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are n−3. EPA and DHA together are known as fish fatty acids.‘Nutritional characteristics’ are the nutritional values of food products that are associated with increased or reduced health risks of the diet. These can be specific nutrients, energy density, nutrient density, and even category of a specific food group (e.g., fish).Fruiting vegetables: A vegetable with a pulpy, seed-rich body which grows on a vine. nutrient density (Nutrient Rich Foods index: NRF) and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGEs) of the products were calculated. Low GHGE intensity per 100g correlated with positive nutritional characteristics of food products. This is true for low energy density, and high nutrient density, expressed as the well-established NRF9.3 index. This index was improved to include the contribution of food products to GHGEs. GHGEs of product groups correlate more strongly with the proposed Sustainable Nutrient Rich Foods index (SNRF). This SNRF summarizes six distinctive nutrients (three which should be encouraged and three limited), as well as (metabolic) energy density. Including such an index on food product labels could assist consumers in making better informed food choices.

Suggested Citation

  • van Dooren, Corné & Douma, Annely & Aiking, Harry & Vellinga, Pier, 2017. "Proposing a Novel Index Reflecting Both Climate Impact and Nutritional Impact of Food Products," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 389-398.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:131:y:2017:i:c:p:389-398
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.08.029
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800916300830
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.08.029?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. Florent Vieux & Nicole N. Darmon & Djilali Touazi & Louis Georges Soler, 2012. "Greenhouse gas emissions of self-selected individual diets in France: Changing the Q23 diet structure or consuming less?," Post-Print hal-02649979, HAL.
    2. Fredrik Hedenus & Stefan Wirsenius & Daniel Johansson, 2014. "The importance of reduced meat and dairy consumption for meeting stringent climate change targets," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 79-91, May.
    3. de Boer, Joop & Aiking, Harry, 2011. "On the merits of plant-based proteins for global food security: Marrying macro and micro perspectives," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 1259-1265, May.
    4. González, Alejandro D. & Frostell, Björn & Carlsson-Kanyama, Annika, 2011. "Protein efficiency per unit energy and per unit greenhouse gas emissions: Potential contribution of diet choices to climate change mitigation," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 562-570, October.
    5. Vieux, F. & Darmon, N. & Touazi, D. & Soler, L.G., 2012. "Greenhouse gas emissions of self-selected individual diets in France: Changing the diet structure or consuming less?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 91-101.
    6. de Boer, Joop & Helms, Martine & Aiking, Harry, 2006. "Protein consumption and sustainability: Diet diversity in EU-15," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 267-274, September.
    7. Garnett, Tara, 2011. "Where are the best opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food system (including the food chain)?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(S1), pages 23-32.
    8. van Dooren, C. & Marinussen, Mari & Blonk, Hans & Aiking, Harry & Vellinga, Pier, 2014. "Exploring dietary guidelines based on ecological and nutritional values: A comparison of six dietary patterns," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 36-46.
    9. Vringer, Kees & Benders, René & Wilting, Harry & Brink, Corjan & Drissen, Eric & Nijdam, Durk & Hoogervorst, Nico, 2010. "A hybrid multi-region method (HMR) for assessing the environmental impact of private consumption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 2510-2516, October.
    10. Garnett, Tara, 2011. "Where are the best opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food system (including the food chain)?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 23-32, January.
    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. Moons, Ingrid & Barbarossa, Camilla & De Pelsmacker, Patrick, 2018. "The Determinants of the Adoption Intention of Eco-friendly Functional Food in Different Market Segments," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 151-161.
    2. van Dooren, C. & Keuchenius, C. & de Vries, J.H.M. & de Boer, J. & Aiking, H., 2018. "Unsustainable dietary habits of specific subgroups require dedicated transition strategies: Evidence from the Netherlands," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 44-57.
    3. de Boer, Joop & Aiking, Harry, 2017. "Pursuing a Low Meat Diet to Improve Both Health and Sustainability: How Can We Use the Frames that Shape Our Meals?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 238-248.
    4. Arrieta, E.M. & González, A.D., 2018. "Impact of current, National Dietary Guidelines and alternative diets on greenhouse gas emissions in Argentina," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 58-66.
    5. Annala, Milla & Vinnari, Markus, 2019. "Content Analysis of TV Food Advertising Using Climate Impact and a Nutritional Impact Index," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 68-74.

    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. Corné Van Dooren & Marcelo Tyszler & Gerard F. H. Kramer & Harry Aiking, 2015. "Combining Low Price, Low Climate Impact and High Nutritional Value in One Shopping Basket through Diet Optimization by Linear Programming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-19, September.
    2. Xiaoke Yang & Zhihang Zhang & Huangyixin Chen & Rongrong Zhao & Zhongyue Xu & Anguo Xie & Qiuhua Chen, 2019. "Assessing the Carbon Emission Driven by the Consumption of Carbohydrate-Rich Foods: The Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, March.
    3. Morena Bruno & Marianne Thomsen & Federico Maria Pulselli & Nicoletta Patrizi & Michele Marini & Dario Caro, 2019. "The carbon footprint of Danish diets," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 156(4), pages 489-507, October.
    4. van Dooren, C. & Marinussen, Mari & Blonk, Hans & Aiking, Harry & Vellinga, Pier, 2014. "Exploring dietary guidelines based on ecological and nutritional values: A comparison of six dietary patterns," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 36-46.
    5. Peter Scarborough & Paul Appleby & Anja Mizdrak & Adam Briggs & Ruth Travis & Kathryn Bradbury & Timothy Key, 2014. "Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 179-192, July.
    6. Erica Doro & Vincent Réquillart, 2020. "Review of sustainable diets: are nutritional objectives and low-carbon-emission objectives compatible?," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, INRA Department of Economics, vol. 101(1), pages 117-146.
    7. van Dooren, C. & Keuchenius, C. & de Vries, J.H.M. & de Boer, J. & Aiking, H., 2018. "Unsustainable dietary habits of specific subgroups require dedicated transition strategies: Evidence from the Netherlands," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 44-57.
    8. Doro, Erica & Réquillart, Vincent, 2018. "Sustainable diets: are nutritional objectives and low-carbon-emission objectives compatible?," TSE Working Papers 18-913, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    9. Valeria De Laurentiis & Dexter V.L. Hunt & Christopher D.F. Rogers, 2016. "Overcoming Food Security Challenges within an Energy/Water/Food Nexus (EWFN) Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-23, January.
    10. Rosemary Green & James Milner & Alan Dangour & Andy Haines & Zaid Chalabi & Anil Markandya & Joseph Spadaro & Paul Wilkinson, 2015. "The potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the UK through healthy and realistic dietary change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 129(1), pages 253-265, March.
    11. Vivian G. M. Quam & Joacim Rocklöv & Mikkel B. M. Quam & Rebekah A. I. Lucas, 2017. "Assessing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Health Co-Benefits: A Structured Review of Lifestyle-Related Climate Change Mitigation Strategies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-19, April.
    12. Marthe Hårvik Austgulen & Silje Elisabeth Skuland & Alexander Schjøll & Frode Alfnes, 2018. "Consumer Readiness to Reduce Meat Consumption for the Purpose of Environmental Sustainability: Insights from Norway," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-24, August.
    13. Reynolds, Christian John & Piantadosi, Julia & Buckley, Jonathan David & Weinstein, Philip & Boland, John, 2015. "Evaluation of the environmental impact of weekly food consumption in different socio-economic households in Australia using environmentally extended input–output analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 58-64.
    14. Ariane Kehlbacher & Richard Tiffin & Adam Briggs & Mike Berners-Lee & Peter Scarborough, 2016. "The distributional and nutritional impacts and mitigation potential of emission-based food taxes in the UK," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 121-141, July.
    15. Johanna Ruett & Lena Hennes & Jens Teubler & Boris Braun, 2022. "How Compatible Are Western European Dietary Patterns to Climate Targets? Accounting for Uncertainty of Life Cycle Assessments by Applying a Probabilistic Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-21, November.
    16. Michael Martin & Miguel Brandão, 2017. "Evaluating the Environmental Consequences of Swedish Food Consumption and Dietary Choices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-21, December.
    17. Röös, Elin & Patel, Mikaela & Spångberg, Johanna & Carlsson, Georg & Rydhmer, Lotta, 2016. "Limiting livestock production to pasture and by-products in a search for sustainable diets," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-13.
    18. Vázquez-Rowe, Ian & Villanueva-Rey, Pedro & Moreira, Mª Teresa & Feijoo, Gumersindo, 2013. "The role of consumer purchase and post-purchase decision-making in sustainable seafood consumption. A Spanish case study using carbon footprinting," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 94-102.
    19. Oriana Gava & Fabio Bartolini & Francesca Venturi & Gianluca Brunori & Alberto Pardossi, 2020. "Improving Policy Evidence Base for Agricultural Sustainability and Food Security: A Content Analysis of Life Cycle Assessment Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-29, February.
    20. Mirjam E. Van de Kamp & Elisabeth H. M. Temme, 2018. "Plant-Based Lunch at Work: Effects on Nutrient Intake, Environmental Impact and Tastiness—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, January.

    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:ecolec:v:131:y:2017:i:c:p:389-398. 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/ecolecon .

    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.