TABLE 2.
Environmental impacts of DGA-compliant dietary patterns compared with current average US dietary patterns1
| Water use (blue/green)2 | Climate | Land use | Energy use | Fertilizer use | Water pollution | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthy US (omnivore) | ||||||
| Behrens et al. (8) | — | ↓ | ↓ | — | — | ↓ |
| Birney et al. (26) | (↑)/(↓) | (↑) | (↓) | ↑ | ↑ | — |
| Hitaj et al.3 (33) | — | ↑ | — | — | — | — |
| Mekonnen and Fulton (35) | ↑/(↑) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Peters et al. (37) | — | — | (↓) | — | — | — |
| Rehkamp and Canning3 (38) | — | — | — | (↓) | — | — |
| Rehkamp and Canning3,4 (39) | (↑)/— | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tom et al. (43) | (↑)/— | ↑ | — | ↑ | — | — |
| Mediterranean | ||||||
| Mekonnen and Fulton (35) | ↑/(↑) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Vegetarian | ||||||
| Hitaj et al.3,4 (33) | ↓ | — | — | — | — | |
| Mekonnen and Fulton (35) | ↑/(↓) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Peters et al. (37) | — | — | ↓ | — | — | — |
| Rehkamp and Canning3,4 (39) | (↑)/— | — | — | — | — | — |
| Vegan | ||||||
| Mekonnen and Fulton (35) | (↑)/↓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Peters et al. (37) | — | — | ↓ | — | — | — |
Upward (downward) pointing arrows indicate that the DGA-compliant diet has higher (lower) environmental impact compared with current average US diet. All comparisons are isocaloric (equivalent in total calories) with the exception of comparisons made by Birney et al. (26), which include the impact of reducing calorie intake to recommended levels. (↓) or (↑) indicates a nonsignificant difference of <10% (energy use, GHGs) or <30% (land use, water use, water pollution) between the DGA-compliant dietary pattern and current average US diet, based on default estimates used for life-cycle assessments. DGA, Dietary Guidelines for Americans; GHG, greenhouse gas emission.
Blue water is surface and groundwater in streams, lakes, and aquifers; green water is rainwater and soil moisture.
Model DGA-compliant diet minimizes changes from current average (baseline) diet.
Model DGA-compliant diet maintains or reduces costs relative to current average (baseline) diet.