Environmental impacts and monetary costs of healthy diets worldwide

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Bai, Yan, Martinez, Elena M., Yamanaka, Mizuki, Rissanen, Marko, Herforth, Anna, Masters, William A.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Bai, Yan
Martinez, Elena M.
Yamanaka, Mizuki
Rissanen, Marko
Herforth, Anna
Masters, William A.
author_facet Bai, Yan
Martinez, Elena M.
Yamanaka, Mizuki
Rissanen, Marko
Herforth, Anna
Masters, William A.
contents Using real-world food price and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data for locally available food items in 171 countries, we measure how healthy diets could be obtained with the lowest possible emissions, compared to costs and emissions of the least expensive options and foods most commonly consumed. We find that foods with the lowest GHG emissions for a healthy diet would emit 0.67 kg CO2e. A healthy diet using the least expensive items in each country would emit 1.65 kg CO2e and cost 9.96. Ninety-one percent of the difference in emissions between the lowest-cost and lowest-emissions diets is driven by animal-source foods and starchy staples. Other food groups, especially fruits and vegetables, vary widely in cost but not in emissions. Results show how changes in food policy and choice can most cost-effectively support healthier and more sustainable diets worldwide.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_24457
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Environmental impacts and monetary costs of healthy diets worldwide
Bai, Yan
Martinez, Elena M.
Yamanaka, Mizuki
Rissanen, Marko
Herforth, Anna
Masters, William A.
General Economics
Economics
Using real-world food price and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data for locally available food items in 171 countries, we measure how healthy diets could be obtained with the lowest possible emissions, compared to costs and emissions of the least expensive options and foods most commonly consumed. We find that foods with the lowest GHG emissions for a healthy diet would emit 0.67 kg CO2e. A healthy diet using the least expensive items in each country would emit 1.65 kg CO2e and cost 9.96. Ninety-one percent of the difference in emissions between the lowest-cost and lowest-emissions diets is driven by animal-source foods and starchy staples. Other food groups, especially fruits and vegetables, vary widely in cost but not in emissions. Results show how changes in food policy and choice can most cost-effectively support healthier and more sustainable diets worldwide.
title Environmental impacts and monetary costs of healthy diets worldwide
topic General Economics
Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.24457