TY - JOUR

T1 - Exploring the pathways towards the mitigation of the environmental impacts of food consumption

AU - Osei-Owusu, Albert Kwame

AU - Towa, Edgar

AU - Thomsen, Marianne

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Agriculture constitutes a quarter and more than a third of Denmark's global greenhouses gas (GHG) emissions and natural resource consumption, respectively. This paper aims to estimate the potential to lower Denmark's global food-related GHG, blue water and land footprints using the most recent version of a hybrid global multi-regional input-output (MRIO) database, EXIOBASE of the reference year, 2011. Specifically, we apply the ‘what if’ scenario-based MRIO approach to EXIOBASE and quantify the impact of increased livestock feed efficiency (FE), dietary changes, food loss and waste (FLW) reduction/prevention and food waste treatment scenarios on Denmark's global food-related GHG and resource footprints. We obtain modest reductions in Denmark's global GHG, blue water and cropland footprint from the combination of livestock FE improvements and FLW reduction relative to the footprints; 61 kt CO2e, 2 Mm3 and 30 kha, respectively. In contrast, dietary change towards no/less meat and dairy diets embodies the most significant reductions potential for Denmark's total global food-related GHG, blue water, croplands and grassland footprint by up to 34% (3.63 Mt. CO2e), 8% (90 Mm3), 23% (371 kha) and 78% (386 kha) respectively. A key policy priority should therefore be the nudging of Danish consumers towards sustainable diets. Also, this study's findings emphasise that FLW prevention remains the most effective food waste-related climate mitigation and resource efficiency strategy despite the benefits of food waste valorisation.

AB - Agriculture constitutes a quarter and more than a third of Denmark's global greenhouses gas (GHG) emissions and natural resource consumption, respectively. This paper aims to estimate the potential to lower Denmark's global food-related GHG, blue water and land footprints using the most recent version of a hybrid global multi-regional input-output (MRIO) database, EXIOBASE of the reference year, 2011. Specifically, we apply the ‘what if’ scenario-based MRIO approach to EXIOBASE and quantify the impact of increased livestock feed efficiency (FE), dietary changes, food loss and waste (FLW) reduction/prevention and food waste treatment scenarios on Denmark's global food-related GHG and resource footprints. We obtain modest reductions in Denmark's global GHG, blue water and cropland footprint from the combination of livestock FE improvements and FLW reduction relative to the footprints; 61 kt CO2e, 2 Mm3 and 30 kha, respectively. In contrast, dietary change towards no/less meat and dairy diets embodies the most significant reductions potential for Denmark's total global food-related GHG, blue water, croplands and grassland footprint by up to 34% (3.63 Mt. CO2e), 8% (90 Mm3), 23% (371 kha) and 78% (386 kha) respectively. A key policy priority should therefore be the nudging of Danish consumers towards sustainable diets. Also, this study's findings emphasise that FLW prevention remains the most effective food waste-related climate mitigation and resource efficiency strategy despite the benefits of food waste valorisation.

KW - EXIOBASE

KW - Feed efficiency

KW - Food waste

KW - Multi-regional input-output

KW - Scenarios

KW - Sustainable diets

U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150528

DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150528

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34582870

AN - SCOPUS:85115923457

VL - 806

JO - Science of the Total Environment

JF - Science of the Total Environment

SN - 0048-9697

M1 - 150528

ER -