Multi-Objective Optimization of Nutritional, Environmental and Economic Aspects of Diets Applied to the Spanish Context

Abstract

Current food consumption patterns must be revised in order to improve their sustainability. The nutritional, environmental, and economic consequences of these dietary patterns must be taken into consideration when diet guidelines are proposed. This study applied a systematic optimization methodology to define sustainable dietary patterns complying with nutritional, environmental, and economic issues. The methodology was based on a multi-objective optimization model that considered a distance-to-target approach. Although the three simultaneous objectives (maximal nutritional contribution, minimal greenhouse gas emissions, and minimal costs) could be divergent, the proposed model identified the optimal intake of each food product to achieve the maximal level of nutritional, environmental, and economic diets. This model was applied to six different eating patterns within the Spanish context: one based on current food consumption and five alternative diets. The results revealed that dietary patterns with improved nutritional profiles and reduced environmental impacts could be defined without additional costs just by increasing the consumption of vegetables, fruits, and legumes, while reducing the intake of meat and fish.

Role of the Food Supply Chain Stakeholders in Achieving UN SDGs

“…In the past 5 years, a large amount of literature has reported the environmental benefits of adopting healthy and sustainable diets (i.e., [66][67][68][69]), showing that dietary shift is a key strategy for climate action. Still, the pressure on changing dietary habits as a result of mainly environmental impacts is more explored in scientific models than observed in everyday life [50].…”

Environmental Impact of Meals: How Big Is the Carbon Footprint in the School Canteens?

“…More people on this planet means higher food demand and, consequently, greater competition for natural resources. Food production relies on the exploitation of natural capital inputs such as water, land, energy and biodiversity, and is responsible for negative externalities as land degradation, water stress and air pollution, contributing to 60% to the terrestrial biodiversity loss [ 2 , 3 ]. Moreover, agriculture both contributes to climate change and is affected by climate change: on one hand it is accounted to release the 24% of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, while on the other hand extreme weather events affect crop yields and food prices [ 2 , 3 , 4 ].…”

“…Food production relies on the exploitation of natural capital inputs such as water, land, energy and biodiversity, and is responsible for negative externalities as land degradation, water stress and air pollution, contributing to 60% to the terrestrial biodiversity loss [ 2 , 3 ]. Moreover, agriculture both contributes to climate change and is affected by climate change: on one hand it is accounted to release the 24% of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, while on the other hand extreme weather events affect crop yields and food prices [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. According to that, current food consumption patterns must be revised in order to improve their sustainability and to reduce the environmental impact of our food system, stimulating the preservation of natural resources, reducing the food waste generation that amounts, approximately, to one-third of the total global food production [ 5 ], but ensuring a production consistent with the growing demand [ 6 ].…”

“…According to that, current food consumption patterns must be revised in order to improve their sustainability and to reduce the environmental impact of our food system, stimulating the preservation of natural resources, reducing the food waste generation that amounts, approximately, to one-third of the total global food production [ 5 ], but ensuring a production consistent with the growing demand [ 6 ]. The nutritional, environmental, and economic consequences of these dietary patterns must be taken into consideration when diet guidelines are proposed [ 2 ], and food policy, as well as production process innovation and consumers awareness, are necessary to tackle these issues. On this purpose, United Nations in the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, call for action by all countries, encouraging them to end hunger through the sustainable management of natural resources, promoting responsible consumption patterns and climate actions [ 7 ].…”

“…Studies aimed to analyse the environmental impact of food have been conducted by many authors [ 23 , 25 ], but they generally focused on a single product or at least few items [ 5 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. On the other hand, additional studies aimed to compare a wide variety of fresh food items, carrying out a systematic literature review of GHG emissions [ 2 , 31 ], but without considering the nutritional aspects. Finally, Poore & Namecek (2019), proposed a comprehensive analysis of more items, grouping them basing on their primary dietary role and benefit.…”