IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i3p1797-d742239.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards a More Sustainable Urban Food System—Carbon Emissions Assessment of a Diet Transition with the FEWprint Platform

Author

Listed:
  • Nick ten Caat

    (Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Martin Tenpierik

    (Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Andy van den Dobbelsteen

    (Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands)

Abstract

The production, processing, and transportation of food, in particular animal-based products, imposes great environmental burden on the planet. The current food supply system often constitutes a considerable part of the total carbon emissions of urban communities in industrialised cities. Urban food production (UFP) is a method that can potentially diminish food emissions. In parallel, a shift towards a predominantly plant-based diet that meets the nutritional protein intake is an effective method to curtail carbon emissions from food. Considering the high land use associated with the production of animal-based products, such a shift will prompt a community food demand that is more inclined to be satisfied with local production. Therefore, during the design process of a future low-carbon city, the combined application of both methods is worth exploring. This work introduces, describes, and demonstrates the diet shift component of the FEWprint platform, a user friendly UFP assessment platform for designers that is constructed around the broader three-pronged strategy of evaluation, shift, and design. For three neighborhoods, in Amsterdam, Belfast, and Detroit, the contextual consumption and country-specific environmental footprint data are applied to simulate a theoretical community-wide diet shift from a conventional to a vegan diet, whilst maintaining protein intake equilibrium. The results show that in total terms, the largest carbon mitigation potential awaits in Detroit (−916 kg CO 2 eq/cap/year), followed by Belfast (−866 kg) and Amsterdam (−509 kg). In relative terms, the carbon reduction potential is largest in Belfast (−25%), followed by Amsterdam (−15%) and Detroit (−7%). The FEWprint can be used to generate preliminary figures on the carbon implications of dietary adaptations and can be employed to give a first indication of the potential of UFP in urban communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Nick ten Caat & Martin Tenpierik & Andy van den Dobbelsteen, 2022. "Towards a More Sustainable Urban Food System—Carbon Emissions Assessment of a Diet Transition with the FEWprint Platform," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-29, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:3:p:1797-:d:742239
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/3/1797/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/3/1797/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Olivier De Schutter, 2017. "The political economy of food systems reform," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 44(4), pages 705-731.
    2. Karina Winkler & Richard Fuchs & Mark Rounsevell & Martin Herold, 2021. "Global land use changes are four times greater than previously estimated," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. repec:oup:erevae:v:44:y:2017:i:4:p:540-566. is not listed on IDEAS
    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. Paul Fesenfeld, Lukas & Maier, Maiken & Brazzola, Nicoletta & Stolz, Niklas & Sun, Yixian & Kachi, Aya, 2023. "How information, social norms, and experience with novel meat substitutes can create positive political feedback and demand-side policy change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    2. Pere Mercadé‐Melé & Carmina Fandos‐Herrera & Sofía Velasco‐Gómez, 2021. "How corporate social responsibility influences consumer behavior: An empirical analysis in the Spanish agrifood sector," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(3), pages 590-611, July.
    3. Taingaun Sourn & Sophak Pok & Phanith Chou & Nareth Nut & Dyna Theng & Phanna Rath & Manuel R. Reyes & P.V. Vara Prasad, 2021. "Evaluation of Land Use and Land Cover Change and Its Drivers in Battambang Province, Cambodia from 1998 to 2018," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-22, October.
    4. Hu Liao & Hu Li & Chen-Song Duan & Xin-Yuan Zhou & Qiu-Ping Luo & Xin-Li An & Yong-Guan Zhu & Jian-Qiang Su, 2022. "Response of soil viral communities to land use changes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.
    5. Fabíola Sostmeyer Polita & Lívia Madureira, 2021. "Transition Pathways of Agroecological Innovation in Portugal’s Douro Wine Region. A Multi-Level Perspective," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-20, March.
    6. Krijn Poppe, 2020. "Covid‐19 will Change the Agri‐food System – but how?," EuroChoices, The Agricultural Economics Society, vol. 19(3), pages 20-25, December.
    7. Enthoven, Laura & Van den Broeck, Goedele, 2021. "Local food systems: Reviewing two decades of research," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    8. Tuan Nguyen Tran, 2024. "Comparing the process of converting land use purposes between socio-economic regions in Vietnam from 2007 to 2020," Environmental & Socio-economic Studies, Sciendo, vol. 12(3), pages 51-62.
    9. Paula Fernandez-Wulff, 2019. "Collective Agency in the Making: How Social Innovations in the Food System Practice Democracy beyond Consumption," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 81-93.
    10. Li, Xiaoliang & Wu, Kening & Yang, Qijun & Hao, Shiheng & Feng, Zhe & Ma, Jinliang, 2023. "Quantitative assessment of cultivated land use intensity in Heilongjiang Province, China, 2001–2015," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    11. Zhu, Zichun & Fu, Congsheng & Wu, Huawu & Wu, Haohao & Zhang, Haixia & Cao, Yang & Xia, Ye, 2023. "What influences does grazing bring about to stream nutrient fluxes in alpine meadows?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    12. Russo Lopes, Gabriela & Bastos Lima, Mairon G. & Reis, Tiago N.P. dos, 2021. "Maldevelopment revisited: Inclusiveness and social impacts of soy expansion over Brazil’s Cerrado in Matopiba," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    13. Stephanie Walton, 2024. "Transforming the food system in ‘unprotected space’: the case of diverse grain networks in England," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 41(3), pages 989-1006, September.
    14. Caroline Hambloch & Kai Mausch & Costanza Conti & Andy Hall, 2023. "Simple solutions for complex problems? What is missing in agriculture for nutrition interventions," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(2), pages 363-379, April.
    15. Yang, Fan & Dong, Guanpeng & Wu, Pengfei & He, Fanneng, 2024. "Stylized facts of past 1000-year of China’s cropland changes," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    16. Zabala, Aiora & Barrios, Luis Enrique García & Pascual, Unai, 2022. "From participation to commitment in silvopastoral programmes: Insights from Chiapas, Mexico," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    17. Tom Dedeurwaerdere & Olivier De Schutter & E Mathijs & Marek Hudon & Sibylle Bui & Ionara Da Costa & Ana Alicia Dipierri & Paula Fernández-Wulff & Hélène Joachain & Tijtske Anna Zwart, 2018. "Food4Sustainability: Collective action for sustainable food systems in a changing climate: assessing social experimentations and policy innovations," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/317131, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    18. Liu, Jingping & Jin, Xiaobin & Song, Jiapeng & Zhu, Wenjie & Zhou, Yinkang, 2024. "Semi-natural habitats: A comparative research between the European Union and China in agricultural landscapes," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    19. Subham Roy & Nimai Singha & Arghadeep Bose & Debanjan Basak & Indrajit Roy Chowdhury, 2023. "Multi-influencing factor (MIF) and RS–GIS-based determination of agriculture site suitability for achieving sustainable development of Sub-Himalayan region, India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 7101-7133, July.
    20. Amber van den Akker & Alice Fabbri & Scott Slater & Anna B. Gilmore & Cecile Knai & Harry Rutter, 2024. "Mapping actor networks in global multi-stakeholder initiatives for food system transformation," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 16(5), pages 1223-1234, October.

    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:3:p:1797-:d:742239. 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.