Integration of environment and nutrition in life cycle assessment of food Items: opportunities and challenges

doi:10.4060/cb8054en

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 218 publications

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“…Elsewhere, using a recently developed Nutrient-Rich Food Index combined with an Environmental Impact metric, milk outperformed an unfortified oat beverage twofold, but a calcium-fortified oat beverage outperformed milk ( 46 ). The combination of life cycle analysis data with nutritional indices is a nascent field without defined standards for calculation, so such scores must be interpreted with caution ( 47 , 48 ). However, it is essential when considering the environmental impact of two food products that their respective nutritional value and function in the diet also be taken into account.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional assessment of plant-based beverages in comparison to bovine milk

et al. 2022

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Plant-based beverages (PBB) are often marketed and used by consumers as alternatives to ruminant milks, particularly bovine milk (hereafter referred to as milk). However, much research has established that there is variation in nutritional composition among these products, as well as demonstrating that they are largely not nutritional replacements for milk. A survey of the prices and nutrition labels of PBB available in New Zealand supermarkets was undertaken. Selected almond, coconut, oat, rice, and soy PBB products were then analyzed for nutritional content, including energy, fat, protein, amino acid, bioavailable amino acid, and trace element contents. Finally, the protein and calcium contents of well-mixed and unshaken products were analyzed to ascertain the impact of colloidal stability on nutrient content. All PBB groups were more expensive than milk on average, while their declared nutrient contents on package labels was highly variable within and between groups. Analyses of selected PBB revealed that soy products had the most similar proximate composition to milk, while all other PBB groups contained less than 1.1 g protein per 100 mL on average. Many PBB were fortified with calcium to a similar concentration as that in milk. Shaken and unshaken samples showed divergent protein and calcium content for several PBB products but had no effect on the composition of milk, indicating that the nutrient content of PBB at the point of consumption will be dependent on whether the product has been shaken. Only the soy PBB had comparable amino acid content and bioavailability to milk. Overall, our results demonstrate the diversity in composition and nutritional properties of PBB available in New Zealand. While the existent environmental footprint data on PBB shows that they generally have lower carbon emissions than milk, milk currently accounts for approximately 1% of the average New Zealand resident’s consumption-based emissions. Except for calcium-fortified soy PBB, none of the commercially available PBB had nutritional compositions that were broadly comparable to milk.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional assessment of plant-based beverages in comparison to bovine milk

et al. 2022

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“…Best practice recommendations were further developed under the FAO umbrella to address the intended purpose of an LCA study and related modeling approach, choice of an appropriate functional unit, assessment of nutritional value, and reporting nutritional LCA results ( 35 ). Main recommendations included: (a) When nutrients are and/or nutrition is relevant to the decision-maker and decision context, nutrient and nutrition related impacts should be considered in the LCA; (b) as many essential nutrients as possible should be reported in the inventory; (c) though research on the potential human health impacts of food items is at an early stage, it is recommended using in the life cycle impact assessment phase a nutrition impact category to account for the benefits or impacts of nutrition on human health.…”

Section: The Multi-functional Nature Of Foods—beyond Functional Unitmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Dietary Impacts in Food Life Cycle Assessment

Jolliet

2022

Front. Nutr.

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Food production and food consumption have been too long studied separately. This paper therefore reviews progresses in assessment methods and identifies how nutrition effects on human health and environmental impacts of the entire food production and consumption can and should be consistently and systematically assessed, on a life cycle-based and a health-based perspective. Main observations include: (a) The strong activity in the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a large range of agriculture production, covering beyond carbon footprint the biodiversity and health impacts of land, water, fertilizers, and pesticide use. (b) The multi-functionality of all foods and the need to compare a wide range of possible alternative including comparing serving size, meal alternatives and diets. (c) The availability of epidemiological dietary risk factors expressed in DALYs, enabling the creation of an additional LCA nutritional impact category and providing much broader flexibility in the choice of the functional unit and the kind of valid comparison LCA can address. (d) The need to use Big Data and machine learning method to better understand interactions and propose healthy and sustainable food baskets. As illustrated by the fruit yogurt example, dietary impacts on human health often dominate the life cycle impacts on human health and it is strongly recommended to consider them in the life cycle inventory and impact assessment of all commodities and foods that will eventually be consumed.

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“…In addition, the environmental and nutritional impact of food remains a controversial topic within food systems [ 31 ]. To minimize trade-offs related to this topic, life cycle assessment (LCA) tools can support decision-making in food systems [ 32 ].…”

Section: Factors To Consider While Designing a Food System Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Principles for Evidence-Based and Sustainable Food System Innovations for Healthier Diets

et al. 2022

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Climate change, rapid urbanization, war, and economic recession are key drivers of the current food systems’ disruption, which has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. Local, regional, and global food systems are unable to provide consumers with nutritious and affordable diets. Suboptimal diets exacerbate the triple burden of malnutrition, with micronutrient deficiencies affecting more than two billion people, two billion people suffering from overweight, and more than 140 million children who are stunted. The unaffordability of nutritious diets represents an obstacle for many, especially in low- and middle-income countries where healthy diets are five times more expensive than starchy staple diets. Food system transformations are urgently required to provide consumers with more affordable and nutritious diets that are capable of meeting social and environmental challenges. In this review, we underline the critical role of innovation within the food system transformation discourse. We aim to define principles for implementing evidence-based and long-term food system innovations that are economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable and, above all, aimed at improving diets and public health. We begin by defining and describing the role of innovation in the transformation of food systems and uncover the major barriers to implementing these innovations. Lastly, we explore case studies that demonstrate successful innovations for healthier diets.

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Integration of environment and nutrition in life cycle assessment of food Items: opportunities and challenges

Abstract: Integration of environment and nutrition in life cycle assessment of food items: opportunities and challenges. Rome, Italy Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations -FAO.

Cited by 15 publications

References 218 publications

Nutritional assessment of plant-based beverages in comparison to bovine milk

Nutritional assessment of plant-based beverages in comparison to bovine milk

Integrating Dietary Impacts in Food Life Cycle Assessment

Principles for Evidence-Based and Sustainable Food System Innovations for Healthier Diets

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