Comparing the Performance of Bread and Breakfast Cereals, Dairy, and Meat in Nutritionally Balanced and Sustainable Diets

Abstract

Objective: To quantify the performance of food products in a sustainable diet based on the balance of their contribution to nutrient intake and environmental impact, within the context of the Dutch diet.Design: While fixing the quantity of a specific food group at different levels, optimized diets that met nutrient requirements and stayed as close as possible to the current Dutch diet were calculated, in order to understand its potential environmental impact and its nutritional quality. Bread & breakfast cereals, dairy, and meat were compared between 0 and 250% of current intake. Their performance is expressed in the relationship between the quantity of these food products and (1) the environmental impact of diets and (2) the nutrient balance of the diets.Setting: The Netherlands.Subjects: Women aged 31–50.Results: The amount of bread & breakfast cereals in the optimized diets were inversely correlated with their environmental impact. The nutrient balance of the optimized diets was maintained despite varying cereal content, with the expected improvement over the current diet. Increasing amounts of dairy in the optimized diet were associated with an increase in environmental impact and meat with a steep increase. The nutrient balance of optimized diets with varying dairy and meat contents was also maintained at high levels, even at 0% content.Conclusions: Bread and breakfast cereals are sources of nutrients with a better environmental performance compared to dairy or meat within the context of the Dutch diet. It is possible to optimize diets for environmental impact whilst maintaining a high nutrient balance.

Nutrition-Oriented Reformulation of Extruded Cereals and Associated Environmental Footprint: A Case Study

“…As such, these analyses provide with valuable insights in the options to improve a product’s environmental impact. Along those lines, our findings are in agreement with previous studies that identified similar hotspots and changes in the same range for similar indicators [ 11 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ].…”

“…In terms of carbon footprint, the current analysis estimated that greenhouse gas emissions of the analyzed products fall in the range of 67–100 g CO 2 -eq for every 30 g portion after reformulation. Previous studies that followed a similar methodology and carried out a full LCA analysis (bar end of life analysis) indicate that greenhouse gas emissions for cereal products fall in the range of 80–117 g CO 2 -eq, with exception of two studies that indicated much lower emissions 21–30 g CO 2 -eq, potentially due to the studies’ limited scope (studying specific aspects of the cereal product production or use of different life cycle inventory (LCI) databases) [ 11 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. As with all LCA analyses, the results of this study should be treated with caution, as they are relevant to the specific products and the regions they are produced.…”

Review of Methodologies for Assessing Sustainable Diets and Potential for Development of Harmonised Indicators

“…Some of the environmental data in the studies showed decreased environmental footprints from the replacement of animal-based foods with plant-based foods, while others showed that plants had a higher footprint [13,14,15,16]. Whereas most studies showed lower environmental impacts from plant-based diets, a few studies showed a higher water footprint, and GHG emissions were observed from the replacement of calories from meat-reduction scenarios with increased plant-based foods [17,18]. Studies have shown that the formulation of substitute dietary patterns was also a factor in instances of higher environmental effects.…”

Nutrition-oriented reformulation of extruded cereals and associated environmental footprint: a case study

“…In terms of carbon footprint, the current analysis estimated that greenhouse gas emissions of the analyzed products fall in the range of 67-100 g CO 2 -eq for every 30 g portion after reformulation. Previous studies that followed a similar methodology and carried out a full LCA analysis (bar end of life analysis) indicate that greenhouse gas emissions for cereal products fall in the range of 80-117 g CO 2 -eq with exception of two studies that indicated much lower emissions 21-30 g CO 2 -eq, potentially due to the studies' limited scope (studying speci c aspects of the cereal product production or use of different LCI databases) (11,(49)(50)(51)(52).…”