Towards Win–Win Policies for Healthy and Sustainable Diets in Switzerland (original) (raw)
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Frontiers in sustainable food systems, 2022
Food consumption is among the activities with the most significant environmental impacts, and furthermore contributes to rising health costs. We explored the factors that foster or hinder healthy and sustainable eating in Switzerland. Based on an online household survey with 620 respondents, we first determined the disability adjusted life years and greenhouse gas impacts associated with individuals' dietary habits to measure healthy and environmentally sustainable eating. We then relate the nutritional health and environmental impacts to individual's intentions, and explore what interpersonal and societal factors foster or hinder healthy and sustainable eating. Results suggest that intentions for healthy eating are stronger than intentions to eat environmentally sustainable and that intentions for healthy eating transmit better into behavior than intentions for environmentally sustainable eating. Males and females had similar intentions but males showed substantially higher dietary related health impacts with 12 min of healthy life lost per day and 14% higher carbon footprint than females. Furthermore, vegan and vegetarian diets yielded very high nutritional health benefits of >23 min of healthy life gained per person and day, mostly realized through the reduced intake in processed and red meat and increased consumption of nuts, wholegrain, and to a lesser extent in fruits and vegetables. Meatless diets show concurrent high reductions in the carbon footprint of −42% for vegetarians and −67% for vegan. A key obstacle to healthier and more environmentally sustainable eating is that people do not recognize the high nutritional and environmental co benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets. This suggests that policies promoting healthy eating can target factors affecting intentions, while measures targeting environmentally sustainable eating should aim at overcoming the intention behavior gap, by informing on e.g. the importance of reducing meat consumption toward environmental sustainability.
Environmental Impacts of Dietary Recommendations and Dietary Styles: Germany As an Example
Environmental Science & Technology, 2013
Besides technical improvements and a reduction of food losses in the food chain, diet shifts offer practicable opportunities to reduce environmental impacts in the agri-food sector on a low-cost basis. In this paper we analyze the environmental impacts of nutrition in Germany in the year 2006. Based on an equalized daily energy uptake of 2000 kcal person −1 day −1 , we compared these impacts with those of four dietary scenarios (D-A-CH, UGB, ovo-lacto vegetarian, vegan) and with average nutrition from 20 years ago, differentiating between effects caused by altering food losses, food wastage, and changed diets. In the year 2006 gender-related impacts were considered separately. With regard to the scenarios analyzed, the highest impact changes would be expected from the vegan and the ovo-lacto vegetarian diet. The impact potentials of the recommendations of UGB and D-A-CH rank third and fourth, but are still significant. Concerning gender, the average female diet is already closer to the recommendations than men's. In comparison to the years 1985−1989, all indicators (with the exception of blue water) show lower impacts, due mainly to changes in diet. In comparison to this, impact changes resulting from food wastage were lower and mainly contrarian, which could be explained by higher food wastage in 2006 compared to 1985−1989.
Environmental impacts of food consumption and nutrition: where are we and what is next?
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2016
Nutrition accounts for 30 % of environmental impacts caused due to the final consumption of Swiss households. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate possibilities for the reduction of these impacts. We developed a general framework for such an analysis. Based on a more detailed analysis of this consumption domain, it is investigated, for which percentage environmental impacts can be reduced by a certain change in consumer behaviour. Finally, the resulting values are used to estimate the potential reduction compared to the total environmental impacts. With a combination of different measures such as less meat and luxury products, no products grown in heated greenhouses and reduction of obesity and wastages, it would be possible to reduce the environmental impacts of nutrition by two thirds and the total household consumption by more than 10%.The most promising single change in behaviour is a vegetarian diet.
Dietary changes needed to improve diet sustainability: are they similar across Europe?
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Background/objectives It is not known whether dietary changes able to simultaneously achieve nutritional adequacy and reduce diet-related greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) are similar across Europe when cultural and gender specificities are taken into account. Subjects/methods Starting from each mean observed diet in five European countries (France, UK, Italy, Finland, and Sweden) and for each gender, nutritionally adequate diets departing the least from observed diet were designed with linear programming by applying stepwise 10% GHGE reductions. Other models directly minimized GHGE. Results For most countries and whatever the gender, achieving nutritional adequacy implied between-food-group subtitutions (i.e., replacing items from the sugar/fat/alcohol food-group with items from the fruit and vegetables and starchy foodgroups), but increased GHGE. Once nutritional adequacy was met, to decrease GHGE, the optimization process further induced within-food-groups substitutions that were reinforced by stepwise GHGE reductions. Diet modeling results showed the need for changes in consumption of animal-based products but those changes differed according to country and gender, particularly for fish, poultry, and non-liquid milk dairy. Depending on country and gender, maximal GHGE reductions achievable ranged from 62% to 78% but they induced large departures from observed diets (at least 2.8 kg/day of total absolute weight change) by modifying the quantity of at least 99% of food items. Conclusions Setting nutritional goals with no consideration for the environment may increase GHGE. However, diet sustainability can be improved by substituting food items from the sugar/fat/alcohol food group with fruit, vegetables, and starches, and country-specific changes in consumption of animal-based products. Standardized surveys and individual diet modeling are promising tools for further exploring ways to achieve sustainable diets in Europe.
Sustainability
With the growing recognition of the food system for a transformation toward sustainability, there is a need for future guidance on food consumption and policy. In particular, dietary guidelines (DGs) have received increasing attention as potential tools for enabling transformative change. This paper analyzes how and to what extent different state and non-state actors in Switzerland incorporate sustainability aspects in their dietary guidelines. It examines how these DGs account for different dimensions at the basis of sustainability thinking, including the classic environmental, economic, and social dimensions as well as issues of health and governance. Our analysis shows the explicit inclusion of sustainability aspects in all DGs of the chosen actors in Switzerland, addressing at least one sustainability category predominantly. Through the analysis of the different stakeholders, different areas of focus become apparent, with each stakeholder covering specific niches of sustainabili...
A B S T R A C T This paper takes as a starting point " food consumption prescriptions " , or guidelines on what and how one should eat when it comes to " healthy and sustainable diets ". Through qualitative research in Switzerland, involving discourse analysis, observations, in-depth interviews, and focus groups, we set out to uncover the more dominant prescriptions put forward by a variety of actors, how consumers represent these prescriptions, as well as overlaps and tensions between them. The notion of a " balanced meal " is the more prominent prescription, along with the idea that food and eating should be " pleasurable ". Guidelines towards eating local and seasonal products overlap with organic and natural food consumption, while prescriptions to eat less meat of higher quality are in tension with prescriptions around vegetarian and vegan diets. We then consider how prescriptions play out in daily life, as both a resource and obstacle towards the establishment of eating habits, and what dimensions of everyday life have the most influence on how certain prescriptions are enacted – contributing to conceptual deliberations on food in relation to social practices. Time, mobility, and the relationships built around food and eating are forces to be reckoned with when considering possible transitions towards the normative goal of " healthier and more sustainable diets " .
Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal, 2009
This study quantifies the sources of agricultural GHG emissions and explores the impact of diet on GHG emissions in Finland. The emissions associated with production of basic food items were quantified for four diet options. For current average food consumption, emissions from soil represent 62% of the total. The emissions due to enteric fermentation contribute 24%, and energy consumption and fertiliser manufacture both about 8%. Regarding GHG emissions, environmental performance of the extensive organic production is poor. A strict vegan diet would nearly halve the agricultural GHG emissions, but reduction of the total emissions would be about 8%. Reducing the GHG emissions through food consumption would require large-scale changes among the entire population. Instead of stressing the impact of individual citizens' diet choices, more attention should be paid to social learning. Attention should be paid to the overall sustainability of food supply, not only to the GHG emissions.
Improving health and carbon footprints of European diets using a benchmarking approach
Public Health Nutrition
Objective: This study aimed to identify diets with improved nutrient quality and environmental impact within the boundaries of dietary practices. Design: We used Data Envelopment Analysis to benchmark diets for improved adherence to food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG). We then optimised these diets for dietary preferences, nutrient quality and environmental impact. Diets were evaluated using the Nutrient Rich Diet score (NRD15.3), diet-related greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) and a diet similarity index that quantified the proportion of food intake that remained similar as compared with the observed diet. Setting: National dietary surveys of four European countries (Denmark, Czech Republic, Italy and France). Subjects: Approximately 6500 adults, aged 18–64 years. Results: When dietary preferences were prioritised, NRD15·3 was ~6 % higher, GHGE was ~4 % lower and ~85 % of food intake remained similar. This diet had higher amounts of fruit, vegetables and whole grains than the observed...
Are vegetarianism and veganism just half the story? Empirical insights from Switzerland
British Food Journal, 2020
PurposePer capita meat consumption in Switzerland has been rather consistent for decades, although the percentage of vegetarians has risen to 14 per cent according to a recent survey. This study tries to resolve this apparent contradictionDesign/methodology/approachThe study is based on household consumption data from Switzerland and focuses on the distribution of consumption rather than on average amounts, using descriptive statistics and a mixed-effects model which explains the coefficient of variation between single consumer consumption amounts.FindingsVegetarianism and veganism are not only overestimated through surveys but also associated with a segment of the population that is consuming increasing amounts of meat. This dual development leads to a stable per capita meat consumption.Originality/valueOur results indicate that greater scientific attention should be paid to this segment of heavy meat eaters.
Sustainable diet and changes in food consumption in chosen European Union countries
2014
The most important challenges of food policy and public health in the 21 Century include fighting high levels of obesity and food waste. Both issues are linked to the necessity of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and inhibiting climate change. Diet modification towards a more sustainable and healthy model, based in greater extent on plant-derived (vegetal) food and not animal products is seen as a chance to improve this situation. Taking these aspects into consideration, an analysis of consumption trends (1991-2011) of 6 food groups, known as markers of sustainable diet, was carried out in 7 EU countries. The study was based on FAO Food Balance Sheet statistical data. The current consumption structures in the selected countries was compared to recommended, sustainable and healthy diets. It was shown that in general homogenization of food consumption, a decrease of pulses and increase of fruit consumption had taken place. In each country the share of cereals & potatoes, fruit & vege...