Can we estimate the impact of small targeted dietary changes on human health and environmental sustainability?

Frédéric Leroy; Flaminia Ortenzi; Graham A. McAuliffe; Stella Nordhagen; Stephan van Vliet; Agustin  del Prado; Ty Beal

doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2023.107222

Can we estimate the impact of small targeted dietary changes on human health and environmental sustainability?

Frédéric Leroy, Flaminia Ortenzi, Graham A. McAuliffe, Stella Nordhagen, Stephan van Vliet, Agustin del Prado, Ty Beal

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

A recent analysis by Stylianou et al. (2021) estimated the impact of small dietary changes in the consumption of individual foods on human health and the environment, expressed as minutes of healthy life lost or gained daily combined with dietary carbon footprints. While an appealing concept given its simplistic interpretation, we aim to draw the attention of nLCA practitioners and developers to the significant limitations and uncertainties of this analysis, based on existing evidence. Stylianou's approach produces results that fail to recognize the importance of essential nutrient density and the risks associated with ultra-processed foods, added sugar, and refined starches. The novel impact assessment undoubtedly brings a new perspective to the growing field of nutritional Life Cycle Assessment. However, the authors neglect numerous methodological limitations, fail to direct the readers' attention to (mis)interpretation risks, and draw highly definitive recommendations aiming to directly influence consumer choices and policymaking. Due to extensive data limitations and associated uncertainties in extant databases (both environmental and nutritional), we recommend caution in the use of this (or any other) food classification system to inform consumer behavior, front-of-package labelling, policies, and programs.

Original language	English
Article number	107222
Pages (from-to)	1-6
Number of pages	6
Journal	Environmental Impact Assessment Review
Volume	102
Issue number	0195-9255
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2023.107222
Publication status	Published - Sep 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
.BC3 is supported by the Basque Government through the BERC 2018-2021 program, and by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness MINECO through BC3 María de Maeztu excellence accreditation MDM-2017-0714. AdP is financed by the programme Ramon y Cajal from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (RYC-2017-22143) and the Ikerbasque Programme. G. A. M. was funded by Soil to Nutrition (S2N), Rothamsted Research's Institute Strategic Programme (ISP) supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (BBS/E/C/000I0320 and BBS/E/C/000I0330). G. A. M. also received support from UKRI & BBSRC's new ISP, Resilient Farming Futures (RFF) towards the end of the manuscript's development (BB/X010961/1). FL reports financial support of the Research Council of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, including the SRP7, IOF3017, IRP11, and IRP21 projects. SvV reports grant support from USDA (2020-38640-31521; 2021-67034-35118), the Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture, Perdue Foods LLC, Applegate LLC, the Bionutrient Institute, and the Greenacres foundation.

Funding Information:
.BC3 is supported by the Basque Government through the BERC 2018-2021 program, and by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness MINECO through BC3 María de Maeztu excellence accreditation MDM-2017-0714. AdP is financed by the programme Ramon y Cajal from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (RYC-2017-22143) and the Ikerbasque Programme. G. A. M. was funded by Soil to Nutrition (S2N), Rothamsted Research’s Institute Strategic Programme (ISP) supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) ( BBS/E/C/000I0320 and BBS/E/C/000I0330 ). G. A. M. also received support from UKRI & BBSRC’s new ISP, Resilient Farming Futures (RFF) towards the end of the manuscript’s development (BB/X010961/1). FL reports financial support of the Research Council of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, including the SRP7, IOF3017, IRP11, and IRP21 projects. SvV reports grant support from USDA (2020-38640-31521; 2021-67034-35118), the Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture, Perdue Foods LLC, Applegate LLC, the Bionutrient Institute, and the Greenacres foundation.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023

Copyright:
Copyright 2023 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

Nutritional life cycle assessment
Nutrient density
Sustainability
Food classification
Ultra-processed food
Consumer choice

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10.1016/j.eiar.2023.107222Licence: CC BY

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Cite this

@article{cc66734dfcf3475a865dd9f6a25dfd46,

title = "Can we estimate the impact of small targeted dietary changes on human health and environmental sustainability?",

abstract = "A recent analysis by Stylianou et al. (2021) estimated the impact of small dietary changes in the consumption of individual foods on human health and the environment, expressed as minutes of healthy life lost or gained daily combined with dietary carbon footprints. While an appealing concept given its simplistic interpretation, we aim to draw the attention of nLCA practitioners and developers to the significant limitations and uncertainties of this analysis, based on existing evidence. Stylianou's approach produces results that fail to recognize the importance of essential nutrient density and the risks associated with ultra-processed foods, added sugar, and refined starches. The novel impact assessment undoubtedly brings a new perspective to the growing field of nutritional Life Cycle Assessment. However, the authors neglect numerous methodological limitations, fail to direct the readers' attention to (mis)interpretation risks, and draw highly definitive recommendations aiming to directly influence consumer choices and policymaking. Due to extensive data limitations and associated uncertainties in extant databases (both environmental and nutritional), we recommend caution in the use of this (or any other) food classification system to inform consumer behavior, front-of-package labelling, policies, and programs.",

keywords = "Nutritional life cycle assessment, Nutrient density, Sustainability, Food classification, Ultra-processed food, Consumer choice",

author = "Fr{\'e}d{\'e}ric Leroy and Flaminia Ortenzi and McAuliffe, {Graham A.} and Stella Nordhagen and {van Vliet}, Stephan and {del Prado}, Agustin and Ty Beal",

note = "Funding Information: .BC3 is supported by the Basque Government through the BERC 2018-2021 program, and by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness MINECO through BC3 Mar{\'i}a de Maeztu excellence accreditation MDM-2017-0714. AdP is financed by the programme Ramon y Cajal from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (RYC-2017-22143) and the Ikerbasque Programme. G. A. M. was funded by Soil to Nutrition (S2N), Rothamsted Research's Institute Strategic Programme (ISP) supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (BBS/E/C/000I0320 and BBS/E/C/000I0330). G. A. M. also received support from UKRI & BBSRC's new ISP, Resilient Farming Futures (RFF) towards the end of the manuscript's development (BB/X010961/1). FL reports financial support of the Research Council of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, including the SRP7, IOF3017, IRP11, and IRP21 projects. SvV reports grant support from USDA (2020-38640-31521; 2021-67034-35118), the Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture, Perdue Foods LLC, Applegate LLC, the Bionutrient Institute, and the Greenacres foundation. Funding Information: .BC3 is supported by the Basque Government through the BERC 2018-2021 program, and by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness MINECO through BC3 Mar{\'i}a de Maeztu excellence accreditation MDM-2017-0714. AdP is financed by the programme Ramon y Cajal from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (RYC-2017-22143) and the Ikerbasque Programme. G. A. M. was funded by Soil to Nutrition (S2N), Rothamsted Research{\textquoteright}s Institute Strategic Programme (ISP) supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) ( BBS/E/C/000I0320 and BBS/E/C/000I0330 ). G. A. M. also received support from UKRI & BBSRC{\textquoteright}s new ISP, Resilient Farming Futures (RFF) towards the end of the manuscript{\textquoteright}s development (BB/X010961/1). FL reports financial support of the Research Council of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, including the SRP7, IOF3017, IRP11, and IRP21 projects. SvV reports grant support from USDA (2020-38640-31521; 2021-67034-35118), the Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture, Perdue Foods LLC, Applegate LLC, the Bionutrient Institute, and the Greenacres foundation. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 Copyright: Copyright 2023 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2023",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1016/j.eiar.2023.107222",

language = "English",

volume = "102",

pages = "1--6",

journal = "Environmental Impact Assessment Review",

issn = "0195-9255",

publisher = "Elsevier Inc.",

number = "0195-9255",

}