Table 3.
Dietary guidelines in relation to the environmental sustainability for a descriptive analysis on environmentally sustainable diets
| Health considerations | Environmental considerations | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reference | Country | Dietary data | Recommended diets | Dietary guidelines* | Health evaluation of whole diet based on | Food aggregation level† | Environmental indicator |
| Gerbens-Leenes and Nonhebel (2005)( 16 ) | Netherlands | Population level (Eurostat 1993, FAO 1999, LEI/CBS 1981/1986/1996/1998, Vereniging voor Nederlandse Koffiebranders en Theepakkers 1961/1998) | Recommended diet, providing nutritional energy and nutrients (Voedingscentrum 1998) | Total energy intake Food group-based | / | 25 items | Land requirement |
| Buzby et al. (2006)( 17 ) | USA | Population level Per capita food availability data series (USDA ERS 2003) | 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans on a 8369 kJ/d (2000 kcal/d) diet | Food group-based|| | / | / | Agricultural needs |
| Tukker et al. (2011)( 18 ) and Wolf et al. (2011)( 19 ) | EU27 | Population level Per capita daily food supply data (FAOSTAT 2008) | WHO diet World Cancer Research Fund diet Mediterranean diet | Food group-based Total energy intake Protein intake | Protein Total and saturated fat | 50 groups 24 commodities | Aggregated environmental impact†† Global warming |
| Capone et al. (2013)( 20 ) | Italy USA Finland | Individual level 3d diet record (INRAN-SCAI survey 2005–2006, scaled to per capita supply intake FAO data) Population level Per capita daily food supply data (FAOSTAT 2006) | Mediterranean diet model adapted for Italians (Institute of Food Sciences of La Sapienza University) | Food group-based | Food groups | 25 groups | Water footprint |
| Friel et al. (2013)( 29 ) | Australia | Household level Per household weekly food purchases (National Nutrition Survey 1995; Household Expenditure data 2003–2004) | Australian Guide to Healthy Eating adapted for environmental sustainability principles | Food group-based | / | 7 groups | GHGE Water use Biodiversity |
| Meier and Christen (2013)( 58 ) and Meier et al. (2014)( 59 ) | Germany | Individual level FFQ (fifty-four-item semi-quantitative) (National Nutrition Survey I, 1985–1989) Diet history + 2×24 h recalls + 2×4 d diet record (National Nutrition Survey II, 2006) | Two recommended diets for Germany Two dietary patterns adopted from USDA/USDHHS guidelines: lacto-ovo-vegetarian and vegan | Food group-based¶ Total energy intake | Food groups | 43 commodities | Global warming potential Ammonia emissions Land use Blue water use Phosphorus use Primary energy use |
| Sáez-Almendros et al. (2013)( 21 ) | Spain | Population level Per capita food supply data (FAOSTAT 2007) Household level Per capita daily or monthly food purchases (Household Consumption Survey 2006) | Mediterranean diet using the minimum servings of each food group recommended (New Mediterranean Diet Pyramid) | Food group-based | Food groups | 9 groups | GHGE Resource use (including agricultural land use, energy and water consumption) |
| Saxe et al. (2013)( 22 ) | Denmark | Population level Per capita annual food supply data | Nordic Nutrition Recommendations New Nordic Diet based on Danish dietary guidelines and OPUS dietary guidelines | Food group-based Total energy intake Protein intake | Food categories | 31 categories | Global warming potential |
| Vanham et al. (2013)( 23 , 24 ) | EU28 Austria | Population level Per capita annual food supply data (FAOSTAT 2012) | Healthy diet‡ DGE, German dietary recommendations | Food group-based Total energy intake Protein intake | Food groups | 9 groups | Water footprint |
| Germani et al. (2014)( 42 ) | Italy | Individual level 3 d diet record (INRAN-SCAI survey 2005–2006) | Mediterranean diet model adapted for Italians (Institute of Food Sciences of La Sapienza University and Livelli di Assunzione di Referimento Di Nutrient ed energia per la populazione italiana) | Food group-based Macronutrient based** Total energy intake | Food groups | 19 groups | Carbon footprint Ecological footprint Water footprint |
| Heller et al. ( 25 , 26 ) | USA | Population level Per capita loss adjusted food availability data series (USDA ERS 2012) | 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Omnivorous diet on a 10 602 and 8368 kJ/d (2534 and 2000 kcal/d) diet Vegetarian diet Vegan diet Healthy Eating Plate diet (Harvard School of Public Health) | Food group-based Total energy intake | Food groups | 100 commodities | GHGE Carbon footprint |
| Hendrie et al. (2014)( 55 ) | Australia | Individual level 1×24h recall FFQ (Australian National Nutrition Survey 1995) | Recommended diet Australian Dietary Guidelines§ | Food group-based | Food groups Total energy intake Macronutrients Micronutrients | 14 groups | GHGE |
| Pairotti et al. (2015)( 30 ) | Italy | Population Per household monthly food basket of Italian products (National Statistics Institute) | Modern Diet Mediterranean Food Pyramid (National Institute of Research on Food and Nutrition (INRAN)) Healthy diet and vegetarian diet (Italian Nutrition Society (SINU)) | Food group-based | Food groups | 5 categories | Energy consumption GHGE |
USDA, US Department of Agriculture; ERS, Economic Research Service; USDHHS, US Department of Heath and Human Services; GHGE, greenhouse gas emissions.
When using food-based dietary guidelines, the contribution of the following food groups was usually captured by the various recommended diets: bread, pasta, cereals and potatoes; fruit and vegetables; milk and milk products; meat and meat products, fish and eggs; legumes, nuts and seeds; fats and oils; and sugar; while alcohol was only included in the Mediterranean diets.
Food aggregation level: the number of food groups, categories or commodities (depending on author’s terminology) for which environmental sustainability data of food intake was available.
In addition, dietary scenarios such as a healthy diet with no meat and a healthy diet with less meat were investigated, in which the meat products were replaced by pulses and oil crops.
Additional food groups included in the recommended diet were the non-core foods; for example, snack foods, processed meats, sugar, tea, coffee and miscellaneous, alcohol, and saturated fats and oils. In addition, dietary scenarios such as the current diet with minimal non-core foods and the foundation recommended diet were also investigated. The former scenario contained similar foods and quantities as the current diet with minimal inclusion of energy-dense processed non-core foods, thus excluding processed meat, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, saturated fats and oils, and alcohol; and the latter was derived from the recommended diet consistent with Australian Dietary Guidelines, however including only core foods in similar amounts to the recommended diet, while meeting minimum nutrient and energy requirements for the population. All scenarios were evaluated on macro- and micronutrient intakes: energy, carbohydrate, protein, total and saturated fat, dietary fibre, vitamin A, folate, Ca, Mg, Zn and K.
The recommended diet was focused only on meeting the guidelines for the intake of fruits and vegetables, total and whole grains, and dairy.
Two German dietary recommendations: D-A-C-H (official recommendation of the German Nutrition Society (DGE)) and UGB (alternative recommendations by the Federation for Independent Health Consultation with less meat, but more legumes and vegetables). The lacto-ovo-vegetarian dietary patterns adopted from USDA/USDHHS guidelines excluded the food groups on meat products and fish products, and included an additional food group for nuts and seeds and a separate food group for legumes. The vegan one additionally excluded the food groups on butter, high- and low-fat dairy products, and egg products, and included an additional food group for vegan soya drink products.
The recommended diet has an energy intake of 8368 kJ/d (2000 kcal/d) with a macronutrient share of 55–60 % of energy from carbohydrates, 10–12 % of energy from proteins and 30 % of energy from fats.
The aggregated environmental impact includes eight environmental impact categories: abiotic depletion, global warming, ozone layer depletion, human toxicity, eco-toxicity, phytochemical oxidation, acidification and eutrophication, all expressed as the relative changes in impact per dietary scenario to status quo diet 2003. This aggregated environmental impact and the global warming were given in absolute numbers and relative to the status quo diet.