Greenhouse gas emissions and the Australian diet-comparing dietary recommendations with average intakes

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorHendrie, G.
dc.contributor.authorRidoutt, B.
dc.contributor.authorWiedmann, T.
dc.contributor.authorNoakes, M.
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractNutrition guidelines now consider the environmental impact of food choices as well as maintaining health. In Australia there is insufficient data quantifying the environmental impact of diets, limiting our ability to make evidence-based recommendations. This paper used an environmentally extended input-output model of the economy to estimate greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) for different food sectors. These data were augmented with food intake estimates from the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey. The GHGe of the average Australian diet was 14.5 kg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) per person per day. The recommended dietary patterns in the Australian Dietary Guidelines are nutrient rich and have the lowest GHGe (~25% lower than the average diet). Food groups that made the greatest contribution to diet-related GHGe were red meat (8.0 kg CO2e per person per day) and energy-dense, nutrient poor “non-core” foods (3.9 kg CO2e). Non-core foods accounted for 27% of the diet-related emissions. A reduction in non-core foods and consuming the recommended serves of core foods are strategies which may achieve benefits for population health and the environment. These data will enable comparisons between changes in dietary intake and GHGe over time, and provide a reference point for diets which meet population nutrient requirements and have the lowest GHGe.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityGilly A. Hendrie, Brad G. Ridoutt, Thomas O. Wiedmann, and Manny Noakes
dc.identifier.citationNutrients, 2014; 6(1):289-303
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/nu6010289
dc.identifier.issn2072-6643
dc.identifier.issn2072-6643
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/89274
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherMDPI
dc.rights© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.3390/nu6010289
dc.subjectdiet; sustainability; environmental impacts; food security; nutrient security; greenhouse gas emissions
dc.titleGreenhouse gas emissions and the Australian diet-comparing dietary recommendations with average intakes
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
hdl_89274.pdf
Size:
317.94 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Published version
Download

Collections

Medicine publications