A Bite of China: Food consumption and carbon emission from 1992 to 2007

Wang, Feng; Cai, Beiming; Zhang, Bing

doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2016.06.007

Cited by 34 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…As such, the environmental impact of the food system is a growing concern worldwide [1]. A three-fold increase in Chinese meat consumption has been observed over the past five decades, which raises particularly alarming concerns for related greenhouse gas emissions, as meat-based diets are associated with at least four times more emissions than plant-based diets [2]. The significance of dietary habits for the global environment is reflected in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, as several objectives are closely linked to the production, use, and disposal of food [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Impact of the Average Hong Kong Diet: A Case for Adopting Sustainable Diets in Urban Centers

Tang

Sobko

2019

Challenges

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As global population growth continues, the rapidly increasing demand for food and the environmental impact of this demand is a growing concern. Most food in Hong Kong is imported, which has implications for the associated environmental footprint. The carbon and water footprints (CF and WF) of the average Hong Kong diet were estimated from available sources and compared to well-accepted sustainable diets to characterize environmental sustainability. The total CF was 5701.90 g CO2-eq per capita/day, and the WF was 4782.31 L per capita/day. While meat products contributed only 22% to the weight, they were responsible for 57% and 53% of the total CF and WF, respectively. The impacts of the Hong Kong diet were greater than those of well-accepted sustainable diets, possibly due to the heavy consumption of meat and the import of foods. This confirms an urgency to increase environmental awareness among Hong Kong’s consumers and make interventions toward the adoption of sustainable, plant-based diets.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Impact of the Average Hong Kong Diet: A Case for Adopting Sustainable Diets in Urban Centers

Tang

Sobko

2019

Challenges

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“…Due to differences in data sources and types of selected foods, outcomes obtained were usually different from one study to another. The carbon emissions in the current study are higher than those of many previous studies in China [50,51]. Daily Chinese diets, covering 22 kinds of foods, were calculated by using the weighted average CF for each food category [50].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…The results showed that dietary carbon emission was 0.9 kg CO 2 eq per day per capita, and about 25% of total carbon emissions were from cereal and bean foods. Furthermore, food-related carbon emissions of Chinese urban households were investigated by using an input-output model, and the results showed that cereal consumption per capita produced 205.4 g CO 2 eq, accounting for 17.2% of the total carbon emissions embodied in household food consumption [51]. However, the results of this study were lower than those of the study by Song et al [31], which showed that carbon emissions embedded in food consumption per capita were about 1170 g CO 2 eq.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Carbon Emission Driven by the Consumption of Carbohydrate-Rich Foods: The Case of China

et al. 2019

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Background: Carbohydrate-rich (CR) foods are essential parts of the Chinese diet. However, CR foods are often given less attention than animal-based foods. The objectives of this study were to analyze the carbon emissions caused by CR foods and to generate sustainable diets with low climate impact and adequate nutrients. Methods: Twelve common CR food consumption records from 4857 individuals were analyzed using K-means clustering algorithms. Furthermore, linear programming was used to generate optimized diets. Results: Total carbon emissions by CR foods was 683.38g CO2eq per day per capita, accounting for an annual total of 341.9Mt CO2eq. All individuals were ultimately divided into eight clusters, and none of the popular clusters were low carbon or nutrient sufficient. Optimized diets could reduce about 40% of carbon emissions compared to the average current diet. However, significant structural differences exist between the current diet and optimized diets. Conclusions: To reduce carbon emissions from the food chain, CR foods should be a research focus. Current Chinese diets need a big change to achieve positive environmental and health goals. The reduction of rice and wheat-based foods and an increase of bean foods were the focus of structural dietary change in CR food consumption.

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“…A diet transition to the preference of animal-based foods has led to a rapidly increasing of carbon footprint in China. If a sustainable diet is adopted, e.g., eating more plant-based foods, the carbon emission can reduce by up to 75% [17][18][19]. Kim et al (2018) proved the climate benefit of adopting a vegetarian diet, and their results emphasized the necessity of reducing red meats consumption for climate action [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of the Growing Water, Carbon and Ecological Footprints of the Chinese Diet from 1961 to 2017

Cao

Chai

Yan

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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In the past decades, food consumption in China has undergone a rapid increase and a significant structure transition, as a result of population growth and economic development. The food system is increasingly threatening the environment by depleting water resources, deteriorating water bodies, aggravating climate change, degrading ecosystems, etc. It is significant to understand how food consumption affected the environment and how its impacts were driven in the historical period. This study reveals the environmental impacts of China’s food system from 1961 to 2017 from a consumption perspective by assessing water, carbon, and ecological footprints. The logarithmic mean Divisia index method was used to examine the drivers of the growing environmental footprints. The assessment results show that all three environmental footprints have had a drastic increase of more than two times during the studied period, which indicates the high environmental pressure posed by food consumption. We also found that, before the 1980s, the main driving forces of the increasing footprints were population and per capita energy intake. From 1984, the diet pattern started to take a positive effect and then became the dominant driver of the growing environmental footprints after the end of the 1990s.

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A Bite of China: Food consumption and carbon emission from 1992 to 2007

Cited by 34 publications

References 35 publications

Environmental Impact of the Average Hong Kong Diet: A Case for Adopting Sustainable Diets in Urban Centers

Environmental Impact of the Average Hong Kong Diet: A Case for Adopting Sustainable Diets in Urban Centers

Assessing the Carbon Emission Driven by the Consumption of Carbohydrate-Rich Foods: The Case of China

Drivers of the Growing Water, Carbon and Ecological Footprints of the Chinese Diet from 1961 to 2017

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