Abstract
Human diets and their associated environmental impacts differ across segments of the population. There is evidence that consumer choices of food intake can also affect the overall environmental impacts of a food system. This paper analyzes the environmental impact of diets and food choices across a rural–urban transect in Northern Vietnam by using mixed survey data from 619 adult respondents. The average greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) resulting from producing the daily food intake of adults in the urban and peri-urban districts were similar, while the average in the rural district was lower. Although starchy staples contributed the most to energy intake, pork and beef were the largest contributors to GHGE. Metrics of blue water use were higher for diets of males than those of females in all three districts. Interestingly, the difference in mean diet diversity score between urban and rural households was significant, and females’ diets were more diverse than those of males. As expected, urban households were more likely to buy food, while rural households often produced their own foods. Urban households reported prioritizing personal health and the natural content of food and would increase seafood and fruits if their income were to increase. In rural regions, interventions aimed at reducing undernutrition should address improving diet quality without significant increases to diet-related environmental impacts.
Highlights
The modern food system faces the key challenge of adequately supplying nutrition for a growing population while addressing the environmental impacts of the global food supply
There were significant differences in household income along the rural–urban transect: around 70% of households in the urban district earned more than VND 11 million per month, and approximately 72% of households in the rural district earned less than VND 7 million per month
Redesigning the food system to meet the nutritional demand of consumers and reducing the overall environmental impact in all countries regardless of their national economy is necessary [37]
Summary
The modern food system faces the key challenge of adequately supplying nutrition for a growing population while addressing the environmental impacts of the global food supply. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020 [1] declared that the global population is not on track to achieve the UN’s Zero Hunger goals by 2030 and that the hidden costs related to diets, such as disease risks and climate emissions, will continue to increase. Achievement of a sustainable food system will require applying a holistic perspective to research and policy to identify potential synergies and trade-offs between three key dimensions of the food system—economic, social, and environmental outcomes—and overcome systemic challenges
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