Analysis of food nitrogen footprint in Guangdong Province

Abstract

Global anthropogenic emissions of reactive nitrogen (Nr) from food production and consumption were regarded as main contributors to nitrogen-related pollution. Food nitrogen footprint analysis could help quantify the amount of Nr release to the environment during the processes of food production and consumption, which plays an important role in nitrogen emission management. In this study, the N-Calculator model was used to quantify the food nitrogen footprint in Guangdong province from 2013 to 2017. The results indicated that: nitrogen footprint of anaimal-sourced food was higher than that of others, and with the increase of animal-sourced food consumption in Guangdong province during the research period, the amount of per capita food nitrogen footprint increased from 19.22 to 21.33 kg N, nearly reaching to the amount of developed countries. Food nitrogen footprint of rural residents was larger than that of urban residents in Guangdong province. Exceeding the recommended amounts of animal-sourced food in the dietary guideline, recent dietary patterns in Guangdong province should be further optimized.