Optimised diets for achieving One Health: A pilot study in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolis in Germany

Juliana Minetto Gellert Paris*, Neus Escobar, Timo Falkenberg, Shivam Gupta, Christine Heinzel, Eliseu Verly Junior, Olivier Jolliet, Christian Borgemeister, Ute Nöthlings

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

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Abstract

Dietary changes are needed to align the global food systems with the planetary boundaries and contribute to Sustainable Development Goals. We employed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework, extended with indicators on human health and animal welfare, to assess 2020 food consumption data of a pilot sample collected through an online survey in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolis (Germany). Feasible optimisation scenarios representing alternative sustainable choices towards overarching environmental, societal and policy goals were explored. Meat and meat products contributed most to overall environmental impacts (e.g., climate change, terrestrial acidification), and fish and seafood to animal welfare loss (e.g., animal lives lost, animal life years suffered). Sodium intake was the most contributing risk factor for life minutes lost. The combined optimisation scenario reduces 55% of greenhouse gas emissions, improves human health indicators by 25% and reduces animal welfare loss substantially (by 52-97%). This is possible with a shift towards flexitarian and vegetarian dietary scenarios. These optimisations deliver improvements across One Health dimensions with marginal changes in dietary scenarios and align with the sustainability goals of the EU Green Deal. Working with regional data can offer advantages in obtaining more realistic baseline dietary information to promote localised dietary shifts. While this research has limitations regarding sample representativeness, it can serve as a case study to encourage sustainable consumption in the Rhine-Ruhr region.
Original languageEnglish
Article number107529
JournalEnvironmental Impact Assessment Review
Volume106
Number of pages14
ISSN0195-9255
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Animal welfare
  • Dietary changes
  • Environmental impact
  • Health nutritional index
  • Life cycle assessment
  • One Health
  • Sustainability

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