Modeled gradual changes in protein intake to increase nutrient adequacy lead to greater sustainability when systematically targeting an increase in the share of plant protein

Gavelle, Erwan de; Leroy, Pascal; Perrimon, Marjorie; Huneau, Jean‐François; Sirot, Véronique; Orset, Caroline; Fouillet, Hélène; Soler, Louis Georges; Mariotti, François

doi:10.1007/s10584-019-02592-6

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…For instance, in the NutriNet-Santé study also conducted in France, we have already shown that it is possible to reduce GHGe by 50% from the nutritionally adequate diets by reducing and rearranging the consumptions of animal products while ensuring nutritional adequacy (28). Smaller changes in protein intake in favor of plant protein targeting an increase in nutrient adequacy also decrease GHGe (29).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade-offs between water use and greenhouse gas emissions related to food systems: an optimization study in French adults

Kesse‐Guyot

Pelletier

Brunin

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Water use (WU) and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) are two main issues facing food systems. Still, they have rarely been studied together even though they are potentially conflicting because their levers for improvement are not necessarily the same. Data on food-related environmental pressures suggest that GHGe and WU can be improved jointly, but their potential conflicts and trade-offs have not been explored. This is what we studied here by a compromise programming approach, using multi-criteria non-linear optimization under a set of nutritional and epidemiological constraints. We used food consumption data of adults aged 18-64 years (n=1,456) from the French representative study INCA 3 (2014-2015) coupled with food environmental impact data from the Agribalyse ® database. A full range of scenarios was identified by prioritizing the two objectives differently, giving weight from 0% to 100%, by 5-% steps, to GHGe improvement over WU improvement. Overall, we showed that it is possible to achieve significant joint reductions in WU and GHGe relative to their observed values: across the prioritization scenarios, WU reduction ranged from -36% to -14% as its prioritization decreased, while GHGe reduction varied less, from -44 to -52% as its prioritization increased. These joint important reductions in GHGe and WU required the removal of meat consumption (beef, pork, poultry and processed meat), while the consumptions of offal and dairy products remained moderate in order to meet nutrient reference values. However, the consumption of some foods varied according to the priority given to WU over GHGe reductions (namely, vegetables, fruit juice, dairy products, eggs, refined cereal, substitutes, offal and potatoes). Fish, whole grains, and fruit remained more constant due to the epidemiological constraints used. Whatever the scenario, the modeled diets were more plant-based than the observed diet from which they differed significantly (only 23-31% of common food consumptions), and were therefore healthier (63-76% reduction in distance to theoretical minimum risk of chronic disease). To conclude, while focusing solely on WU reduction induces a joint GHGe reduction that is near-maximal, the reverse is not true, showing that there is good alignment but also some divergence between these objectives. This suggests that food systems WU should be better considered in dietary guidelines for healthy and sustainable diet.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade-offs between water use and greenhouse gas emissions related to food systems: an optimization study in French adults

Kesse‐Guyot

Pelletier

Brunin

et al. 2023

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Evidence is clear that a protein transition is needed to achieve more environmentally-friendly diets [ 19 , 22 , 49 ]. To increase protein intake in an environmentally friendly way in older adults, the diet optimization study showed that a shift towards a more plant-based diet was needed, one in which the animal- to plant-protein ratio shifts from 60:40 to 50:50 [ 20 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been previously argued that increasing protein intake based on current food consumption patterns is likely to have unfavorable consequences for the natural environment [18][19][20]. Globally, current food production and consumption are dominant drivers of climate change, eutrophication (excessive richness of nutrients in water), acidification (water or soil becomes too acid), and biodiversity loss and are a considerable drain on resources such as land, water, energy, and nutrients [21,22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of personalized dietary advice to increase protein intake on food consumption and the environmental impact of the diet in community-dwelling older adults: results from the PROMISS trial

et al. 2022

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Purpose Diet modelling studies suggest that increasing protein intake with no consideration for sustainability results in a higher environmental impact on the diet. To better understand the impact in real life, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of dietary advice to increase protein intake on food consumption and the environmental impact of the diet in community-dwelling older adults. Methods Food consumption and environmental impact were analyzed among 124 Dutch older adults with lower habitual protein intake (< 1.0 g/kg adjusted body weight/day) participating in the six-month PROMISS trial. Dietary intake data from three 24-h dietary recalls, aided by food diaries, and results from life cycle assessments were used to examine the differences in changes in food consumption and environmental impact between those who received dietary advice to isocalorically increase protein intake to ≥ 1.2 g/kg aBW/d (Protein + ; n = 84) and those who did not receive dietary advice (Control; n = 40). Results Compared to the Control, Protein + increased protein intake from animal-based food products (11.0 g protein/d, 95% CI 6.6–15.4, p < 0.001), plant-based food products (2.1 g protein/d, 95% CI 0.2–4.0, p = 0.031) and protein-enriched food products provided during the trial (18 g protein/d, 95% CI 14.5–21.6, p < 0.001) at the 6-month follow-up. Diet-associated greenhouse gas emissions increased by 16% (p < 0.001), land use by 19% (p < 0.001), terrestrial acidification by 20% (p = 0.01), and marine eutrophication by 16% (p = 0.035) in Protein + compared to the Control. Conclusion This study found that dietary advice increased protein intake, favoring animal-based protein, and increased the environmental impact of the diet in older adults. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT03712306. October 2018.

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“…25 Similarly, a French study showed that step-by-step substitutions of animal protein sources by plant protein sources in order to improve nutritional quality without upsetting the habits of each participant would decrease the carbon footprint only of their diets by 5%. 47 Main conclusions from studies using approach 1…”

Section: Advantages and Limitations Of The Analysis Of Hypothetical Diets Based On Predetermined Assumptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advantages and limitations of the methodological approaches used to study dietary shifts towards improved nutrition and sustainability

Pérignon

Darmon

2021

Nutrition Reviews

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Acting on diet is one of the changes required -in combination with actions on food production, transformation, and waste -to address the challenges of reducing the environmental impact of our food systems and eliminating all forms of malnutrition. The number of studies exploring how to move towards a more sustainable diet has exploded over the past decades, but there is a need to facilitate their understanding and use by policy makers and all other stakeholders possibly influencing diet sustainability. The aim of the present article is to propose a categorization of studies into 4 approaches, based on the type of methodology used to explore diet sustainability, and to highlight the principles, advantages, and limitations of each approach in order to help study users in their interpretation. The 4 approaches are: assessment of sustainability characteristics of hypothetical diets (approach 1) or existing diets (approach 2), identification of existing "positive deviants" (approach 3), and design of more sustainable diets with constrained optimization (approach 4). Specificities and key findings drawn from each approach are described, and challenges for future studies are discussed.

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Modeled gradual changes in protein intake to increase nutrient adequacy lead to greater sustainability when systematically targeting an increase in the share of plant protein

Abstract: This is the "postprint" version, i.e. the authors' version that has been accepted for publication, of the article by De Gavelle et al., finally published in Climatic Change in 2020.

Cited by 10 publications

References 61 publications

Trade-offs between water use and greenhouse gas emissions related to food systems: an optimization study in French adults

Trade-offs between water use and greenhouse gas emissions related to food systems: an optimization study in French adults

Effect of personalized dietary advice to increase protein intake on food consumption and the environmental impact of the diet in community-dwelling older adults: results from the PROMISS trial

Advantages and limitations of the methodological approaches used to study dietary shifts towards improved nutrition and sustainability

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