Dietary heterogeneity among Western industrialized countries reflected in the stable isotope ratios of human hair.

Luciano O Valenzuela,James R Ehleringer,Gabriel J Bowen,Thure E Cerling,Lesley A Chesson,Stephane Blanc

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034234

Luciano O Valenzuela, James R Ehleringer + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0034234

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Abstract

Although the globalization of food production is often assumed to result in a homogenization of consumption patterns with a convergence towards a Western style diet, the resources used to make global food products may still be locally produced (glocalization). Stable isotope ratios of human hair can quantify the extent to which residents of industrialized nations have converged on a standardized diet or whether there is persistent heterogeneity and glocalization among countries as a result of different dietary patterns and the use of local food products. Here we report isotopic differences among carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios of human hair collected in thirteen Western European countries and in the USA. European hair samples had significantly lower δ13C values (−22.7 to −18.3‰), and significantly higher δ15N (7.8 to 10.3‰) and δ34S (4.8 to 8.3‰) values than samples from the USA (δ13C: −21.9 to −15.0‰, δ15N: 6.7 to 9.9‰, δ34S: −1.2 to 9.9‰). Within Europe, we detected differences in hair δ13C and δ34S values among countries and covariation of isotope ratios with latitude and longitude. This geographic structuring of isotopic data suggests heterogeneity in the food resources used by citizens of industrialized nations and supports the presence of different dietary patterns within Western Europe despite globalization trends. Here we showed the potential of stable isotope analysis as a population-wide tool for dietary screening, particularly as a complement of dietary surveys, that can provide additional information on assimilated macronutrients and independent verification of data obtained by those self-reporting instruments.

Highlights

The traditional view of the effects of globalization on food consumption is the convergence of dietary patterns across the globe [1,2,3,4]
By measuring stable carbon isotope ratios of beef Martinelli et al [5] showed that the Big MacH is produced in very much the same way across the globe but with locally or regionally produced beef
The ranges of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope values in human hair collected across thirteen Western European countries were 222.7 to 218.3%, 7.8 to 10.3% and 4.8 to 8.3%, respectively (Figure 2)

Summary

Introduction

The traditional view of the effects of globalization on food consumption is the convergence of dietary patterns across the globe [1,2,3,4]. In recent years this view has changed to incorporate local influences on food production and culturally framed consumer choices [1,4,5,6]. One outcome of this new understanding is the development of the concept of glocalization, which in the context of food production refers to the manufacturing of globally-distributed food items using local resources [5,6]. If a globalization symbol such as the Big MacH represents the use and consumption of local resources, how global, glocal or local is the diet of modern industrialized societies? To what extents have the dietary origins of these societies converged and become homogeneous?

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