Environmental Sustainability of Food Consumption in Asia

Biraj Adhikari,Trakarn Prapaspongsa

doi:10.3390/su11205749

Biraj Adhikari, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205749

Copy DOI

Abstract

This study assesses the environmental sustainability of food consumption in Thailand, India, China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia by using a life cycle assessment. These five Asian countries were selected according to the differences in surface area, population density, GDP, and food consumption patterns. The data were obtained from Food and Agriculture Organization food balance sheets, Ecoinvent 3.4 and Agri-footprint 4.0 databases, and scientific publications. The environmental impact categories chosen were global warming, terrestrial acidification, eutrophication, eco-toxicity, human toxicity, and fossil resource scarcity. The impact assessment was carried out by using the ReCiPe2006 v1.1 method. Based on the analysis, the highest environmental impacts for all categories (except eutrophication) were from the food consumption in China, followed by the consumption in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and India. The major contributors to these impacts were meat, cereals, animal products, and alcoholic beverages. Meat was the highest contributor in all countries except India, because of low meat consumption in India. A calorie intake analysis was also conducted, which showed reductions in environmental impacts by shifting towards calorie-adequate and non-environmentally intensive diets in Thailand, China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, a reduction in the consumption of meat, cereals, animal products, and alcoholic beverages could therefore enhance the environmental sustainability of food consumption.

Highlights

The growing human population, expanding urbanization, and increasing environmental concerns stress the need for sustainable consumption and production [1]
The consumption of sugar and confectionary ranges from 1% to 17%, and the supply for vegetables ranges from 9% to 39% out of total food consumed per capita per year in Thailand and China, respectively
The consumption of meat in India is much less than all the other countries studied, while in Saudi Arabia, there is no consumption of alcoholic beverages

Summary

Introduction

The growing human population, expanding urbanization, and increasing environmental concerns stress the need for sustainable consumption and production [1]. The main aims of this study are to assess the environmental impacts of food consumption in five selected Asian countries, identify major food groups responsible for different environmental impacts, compare the impacts of consumption among the countries analyzed, and recommend how an increase in environmental sustainability of food consumption in Asia could be attained. The results of the study will provide a country-comparative analysis on the impacts of food consumption through different impacts categories, insights on the major stressors to the environment related to food consumption in each country, and quantitative analysis on various diet scenarios to identify environmentally friendly diets. Together with further studies related to diet and nutrition, the results can be used to provide recommendations for the mitigation of impacts through shifts to healthier and more environmentally friendly diets in Asia

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion