Takacs, Berill; (2024) An integrated assessment of the environmental and nutritional impacts of meals. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

Text Berill PhD thesis_02.01.2024 revision_clean version_Final.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 February 2025. Download (8MB)

Abstract

Background: Our food system is a major driver of environmental degradation and climate change. Current food consumption patterns have also been causally associated with malnutrition, obesity and other non-communicable diseases, which account for 74% of all deaths globally. The wide implications of food consumption choices on both planetary and human health offer a unique opportunity for integrated action on promoting sustainable food consumption choices. For this, harmonized and integrated assessments are needed but are limited especially at the meal level. Aim: The aim of this research was to carry out an integrated assessment of the environmental impacts, nutritional quality, and cost of four commonly consumed meals (lasagne, chilli, curry and teriyaki) and their ‘meat-based’, ‘vegetarian’, ‘vegan’, and ‘whole-food vegan’ recipe variations and provide evidence-based information on how to mitigate the negative environmental impacts of meals while maintaining or improving their nutritional quality. Method: The environmental impacts (global warming, freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, and water depletion potential) were estimated from cradle to plate following the standard LCA methodology (ISO 14040 and ISO 14044). The nutritional quality of meals was assessed using the Nutrient Rich Food Index (NRF 17.3), which included 17 nutrients to encourage (protein, fibre, vitamin A, B1, B2, B9, B12, C and E, and minerals: K, Ca, Mg, Fe, I, Cu, Zn, Se) and 3 nutrients to limit (saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium). Recipe costs were calculated based on the ingredient costs and wastage costs. Results: Irrespective of the type of cuisine, the whole-food vegan recipe variation of meals had the lowest environmental impact and the highest nutrient density. Meat-based meals had 14 times higher environmental impact, while vegetarian meals had 3 times higher environmental impact than vegan meals. Whole-food vegan meals had higher concentrations of fibre, vitamin A, vitamin B1, magnesium and copper than meat-based meals. Plant-based meals also cost less to prepare (£1.17) than meat-based (£1.56) and vegetarian meals (£1.37). Conclusion: This research, along with a growing body of evidence, suggests that plant-based meals may have not only substantially lower environmental impacts but also higher nutrient density, and cost less to prepare than their meat-based and vegetarian alternatives. Centring recipes around vegetables, wholegrains and legumes may also contribute to addressing micronutrient deficiencies in populations in a sustainable way that promotes both human and planetary health.

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