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Analyzing Diets’ Contribution to Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Brasilia, Brazil

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  • Victor Silva

    (Center for Environmental Studies and Research, University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-870, Brazil
    Graduate Program on Environmental Technology and Water Resources, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Brasília, Brasília 70910-900, Brazil)

  • Francisco Contreras

    (Graduate Program on Environmental Technology and Water Resources, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Brasília, Brasília 70910-900, Brazil)

  • Ryu Koide

    (Material Cycles Division, Global Resource Sustainability Research Section, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan)

  • Chen Liu

    (Sustainable Consumption and Production Area, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Hayama 240-0115, Japan)

Abstract

Given the effort to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, understanding the consumption patterns that facilitate and support changes is essential. In this context, household food consumption constitutes a large part of society’s environmental impacts due to the production and solid waste generation stages. Hence, we focus on applying the Life Cycle Assessment to estimate Brasilia’s GHG emissions associated with household food consumption. We have used microdata from the Personal Food Consumption Analysis to address consumption patterns. The life cycle approach relies on the adaptations for Brasilia’s scenario of the inventories available in the databases of Ecoinvent 3.6 Cutoff and Agribalyse 3.0.1. Individuals’ GHG emissions results were classified according to sociodemographic groups and dietary patterns and analyzed through Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results indicate that household food consumption contributes 11,062.39 t CO 2 e daily, averaging 5.05 kg CO 2 e per capita. Meat consumption accounts for the largest share of emissions (55.27%), followed by beverages (18.78%) and cereals (7.29%). The ANOVA results indicate that individuals living in houses, individuals between 45 and 54 years old, and men have a higher carbon footprint. Therefore, future analyses for potential reduction should incorporate these target groups. Regarding dietary patterns, vegan individuals contribute 3.05 kg CO 2 e/day, 59.00% fewer emissions than omnivorous people. The no red meat, pescatarian, and vegetarian diets also imply lower food-related GHG emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Victor Silva & Francisco Contreras & Ryu Koide & Chen Liu, 2023. "Analyzing Diets’ Contribution to Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Brasilia, Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-17, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:6174-:d:1115206
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    References listed on IDEAS

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