IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i10p6290-d820963.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ten-Year Changes in Global Warming Potential of Dietary Patterns Based on Food Consumption in Ontario, Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Basak Topcu

    (School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Goretty M. Dias

    (School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Sadaf Mollaei

    (School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

Abstract

Many studies have evaluated the life cycle environmental impacts of diets based on a single period, but few studies have considered how environmental impacts of diets change over time, even though dietary patterns (DPs) change due to policy and socio-demographic factors. This study evaluated changes in the global warming potential (GWP) of DPs in the province of Ontario, Canada, using a life cycle assessment. We quantified the farm-to-fork GWP of six DPs (Omnivorous, No Pork, No Beef, No Red Meat, Pescatarian, and Vegetarian), using dietary intake data from a 2014 and 2015 survey. Throughout this period, the biggest decrease in GWP was for DPs containing beef, even though these DPs still have the highest GWP (3203 and 2308 kg CO 2 e, respectively, based on the annual energy intake of one individual). Across all DPs, plant-based proteins contributed less than 5% to GWP, while meat and fish contributed up to 62% of the total GWP. Ten-year GWP reductions are insufficient to meet climate change and other sustainability goals, and major dietary shifts are needed, particularly substituting animal-based proteins with plant-based proteins. To design effective interventions for shifting towards sustainable diets, research is needed to understand how socio-demographic and regional differences influence individuals’ food choices.

Suggested Citation

  • Basak Topcu & Goretty M. Dias & Sadaf Mollaei, 2022. "Ten-Year Changes in Global Warming Potential of Dietary Patterns Based on Food Consumption in Ontario, Canada," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-20, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:10:p:6290-:d:820963
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/10/6290/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/10/6290/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jessica A. Gephart & Patrik J. G. Henriksson & Robert W. R. Parker & Alon Shepon & Kelvin D. Gorospe & Kristina Bergman & Gidon Eshel & Christopher D. Golden & Benjamin S. Halpern & Sara Hornborg & Ma, 2021. "Environmental performance of blue foods," Nature, Nature, vol. 597(7876), pages 360-365, September.
    2. J. M. Bauer & L. A. Reisch, 2019. "Behavioural Insights and (Un)healthy Dietary Choices: a Review of Current Evidence," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 3-45, March.
    3. Abhishek Chaudhary & David Gustafson & Alexander Mathys, 2018. "Multi-indicator sustainability assessment of global food systems," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Stoeckli, Sabrina & Merian, Sybilla & Wanner, Silvan & Stucki, Matthias & Chaudhary, Abhishek, 2024. "Advancing Biodiversity Footprinting for Food-Related Behavior Change," OSF Preprints zpvq4, Center for Open Science.
    2. Nguyen, Trang & de Brauw, Alan & van den Berg, Marrit, 2022. "Sweet or not: Using information and cognitive dissonance to nudge children toward healthier food choices," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    3. Bauer, Jan M. & Nielsen, Kristian S. & Hofmann, Wilhelm & Reisch, Lucia A., 2022. "Healthy eating in the wild: An experience-sampling study of how food environments and situational factors shape out-of-home dietary success," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    4. Bauer, Jan M. & Aarestrup, Simon C. & Hansen, Pelle G. & Reisch, Lucia A., 2022. "Nudging more sustainable grocery purchases: Behavioural innovations in a supermarket setting," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    5. Koen Deconinck & Marion Jansen & Carla Barisone, 2023. "Fast and furious: the rise of environmental impact reporting in food systems," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 50(4), pages 1310-1337.
    6. Malak Anshassi & Timothy G. Townsend, 2023. "The hidden economic and environmental costs of eliminating kerb-side recycling," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(8), pages 919-928, August.
    7. Anshuman Gunawat & Devesh Sharma & Aditya Sharma & Swatantra Kumar Dubey, 2022. "Assessment of climate change impact and potential adaptation measures on wheat yield using the DSSAT model in the semi-arid environment," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 111(2), pages 2077-2096, March.
    8. Arianna Martini & Leonardo Aguiari & Fabrizio Capoccioni & Marco Martinoli & Riccardo Napolitano & Giacomo Pirlo & Nicolò Tonachella & Domitilla Pulcini, 2023. "Is Manila Clam Farming Environmentally Sustainable? A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Approach Applied to an Italian Ruditapes philippinarum Hatchery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-9, February.
    9. Naylor, Rosamond & Fang, Safari & Fanzo, Jessica, 2023. "A global view of aquaculture policy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    10. Perino, Grischa & Schwirplies, Claudia, 2022. "Meaty arguments and fishy effects: Field experimental evidence on the impact of reasons to reduce meat consumption," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    11. Campi, Mercedes & Dueñas, Marco & Fagiolo, Giorgio, 2021. "Specialization in food production affects global food security and food systems sustainability," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    12. Martínez-Jauregui, María & White, Piran C.L. & Touza, Julia & Soliño, Mario, 2019. "Untangling perceptions around indicators for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-1.
    13. Cadario, Romain & Chandon, Pierre, 2019. "Viewpoint: Effectiveness or consumer acceptance? Tradeoffs in selecting healthy eating nudges," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1-6.
    14. Claude E. Boyd & Aaron A. McNevin & Robert P. Davis, 2022. "The contribution of fisheries and aquaculture to the global protein supply," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(3), pages 805-827, June.
    15. Jonathan E. Barnsley & Chanjief Chandrakumar & Carlos Gonzalez-Fischer & Paul E. Eme & Bridget E. P. Bourke & Nick W. Smith & Lakshmi A. Dave & Warren C. McNabb & Harry Clark & David J. Frame & John L, 2021. "Lifetime Climate Impacts of Diet Transitions: A Novel Climate Change Accounting Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-18, May.
    16. Guo, Xiao-Xia & Li, Ke-Li & Liu, Yi-Ze & Zhuang, Ming-Hao & Wang, Chong, 2022. "Toward the economic-environmental sustainability of smallholder farming systems through judicious management strategies and optimized planting structures," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    17. Stefanie Colombo & Juan A. Manríquez-Hernández & Janet Music & Sylvain Charlebois, 2024. "Canadians’ Opinions and Preferences regarding Seafood, and the Factors That Contribute to Their Consumption and Purchasing Habits," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-12, January.
    18. Dong, Fengxia & Mitchell, Paul D., 2023. "Economic and risk analysis of sustainable practice adoption among U.S. corn growers," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    19. Valentin Grecu & Radu-Ilie-Gabriel Ciobotea & Adrian Florea, 2020. "Software Application for Organizational Sustainability Performance Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-28, May.
    20. Robert Finger, 2023. "Digital innovations for sustainable and resilient agricultural systems," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 50(4), pages 1277-1309.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:10:p:6290-:d:820963. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.