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Abstract

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Food Consumption: Results from the Icelandic National Dietary Survey 2019–2021 †

by
Ragnhildur Guðmannsdóttir
*,
Ingibjörg Gunnarsdóttir
,
Ólöf Guðný Geirsdóttir
,
María Gudjónsdóttir
,
Bryndís Eva Birgisdóttir
,
Ólafur Ögmundarson
and
Þórhallur Ingi Halldórsson
Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland, Aragata 14, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the 14th European Nutrition Conference FENS 2023, Belgrade, Serbia, 14–17 November 2023.
Proceedings 2023, 91(1), 245; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091245
Published: 4 February 2024
(This article belongs to the Proceedings of The 14th European Nutrition Conference FENS 2023)
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
Food is one of the main drivers of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the environmental impact of food choices. A National Dietary Survey (NDS) is executed every ten years in Iceland. However, the dietary carbon footprint (DCF) based on the results from the NDS has not been estimated for Iceland before. Thus, the objective was to assess the DCF of dietary habits of adults living in Iceland. A carbon footprint modelling tool was implemented using data from three independent LCA databases from Denmark, the US, and France. The DCF was calculated using results from the latest NDS, including data from 2019 to 2021. This was a random study sample of 18–80 year old inhabitants living in Iceland with 822 participants, including 428 (52%) females and 394 (48%) males. The participation rate in the NDS was 51%. The average total DCF from the three databases was 5.7 kg CO2-eq/day. The highest emissions originated from the consumption of meat and meat products (49%) (median intake 850 g/week) and dairy products (15%) (median intake 250 g/day), while emissions from the consumption of seafood (median intake 130 g/week) had a broader range (3–10%). Beverages also contributed to a significant proportion (12%), plant sources contributed 3%, and other food groups combined contributed 13% of the DCF in all three databases. The DCF for the participants following the Planetary Health Diet, the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations, and the Danish food-based dietary guidelines for intake levels of meat and dairy products was an average of 2.6 kg CO2-eq/day. The main driver of GHG emissions from food consumption, identified by the three databases, was meat and dairy products, contributing to an average of 64% of the total DCF. When estimating the DCF for participants following recommendations for meat and dairy consumption, a similar pattern emerged, where the DCF decreased from 5.9–2.6 kg CO2-eq. These consistent results suggest that uncertainties in estimating the DCF from different food groups using the three databases are not critical in identifying key drivers of GHG emissions.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, R.G., Ó.G.G., M.G., B.E.B., Ó.Ö. and Þ.I.H.; methodology, R.G., I.G., Ó.G.G., M.G., B.E.B., Ó.Ö. and Þ.I.H.; software, R.G. and Þ.I.H.; validation, R.G. and Þ.I.H.; formal analysis, R.G.; investigation, R.G., I.G., B.E.B. and Þ.I.H.; resources, R.G.; data curation, R.G., I.G., B.E.B. and Þ.I.H.; writing—original draft preparation, R.G.; writing—review and editing, I.G., Ó.G.G., M.G., B.E.B., Ó.Ö. and Þ.I.H.; supervision, Ó.G.G., M.G., B.E.B., Ó.Ö. and Þ.I.H.; project administration, Þ.I.H.; funding acquisition, R.G., Ó.G.G., M.G., B.E.B., Ó.Ö. and Þ.I.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by The RANNIS Fund for Societal Challenges of the project Sustainable Healthy Diets (grant number 200221-5601).

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Icelandic Bioethics Committee (vsn.is).

Informed Consent Statement

All participants provided informed consent upon enrolment to the study.

Data Availability Statement

Data can be shared on request conditioned on the purpose of use and privacy restriction.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

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MDPI and ACS Style

Guðmannsdóttir, R.; Gunnarsdóttir, I.; Geirsdóttir, Ó.G.; Gudjónsdóttir, M.; Birgisdóttir, B.E.; Ögmundarson, Ó.; Halldórsson, Þ.I. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Food Consumption: Results from the Icelandic National Dietary Survey 2019–2021. Proceedings 2023, 91, 245. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091245

AMA Style

Guðmannsdóttir R, Gunnarsdóttir I, Geirsdóttir ÓG, Gudjónsdóttir M, Birgisdóttir BE, Ögmundarson Ó, Halldórsson ÞI. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Food Consumption: Results from the Icelandic National Dietary Survey 2019–2021. Proceedings. 2023; 91(1):245. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091245

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guðmannsdóttir, Ragnhildur, Ingibjörg Gunnarsdóttir, Ólöf Guðný Geirsdóttir, María Gudjónsdóttir, Bryndís Eva Birgisdóttir, Ólafur Ögmundarson, and Þórhallur Ingi Halldórsson. 2023. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Food Consumption: Results from the Icelandic National Dietary Survey 2019–2021" Proceedings 91, no. 1: 245. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091245

APA Style

Guðmannsdóttir, R., Gunnarsdóttir, I., Geirsdóttir, Ó. G., Gudjónsdóttir, M., Birgisdóttir, B. E., Ögmundarson, Ó., & Halldórsson, Þ. I. (2023). Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Food Consumption: Results from the Icelandic National Dietary Survey 2019–2021. Proceedings, 91(1), 245. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023091245

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