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Abstract Knowledge about the environmental impact of alcohol is limited and as an effect alcohol is often excluded from environmental studies of diets or included in incomplete ways. This paper describes the climate impact of beer, wine and liquor by using life cycle assessment. The climate impact is quantified per litre of specific alcoholic beverages and per total amount of alcohol consumed based on self-reported data of 50 000 individuals from 2009 within two population-based cohorts in Sweden. The results show that alcoholic beverages generate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the range of 0.73–2.38 kg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO 2 e) per litre. Alcohol consumption in the population studied generates on average 52 kg CO 2 e per person and year. Within the 10% of the population with the highest intake of alcohol GHG emissions are up to 202 kg CO 2 e per person and year. Consumption of wine is responsible for the largest share of GHG emissions from alcoholic beverages (61%) followed by beer (33%), while liquor and strong wine account for a smaller share (6%). Alcohol consumption among men generates 90% higher GHG emissions than among women. Alcohol consumption and in consequence alcohol-related emissions are decreasing with increasing age of men and women. Our results indicate that alcohol consumption in Swedish men and women is responsible for an average of 3% of total diet-related GHG emissions and in sub-populations with the highest consumption up to 6–11%. Limiting alcohol could be an effective option to reduce the climate impact of diets, especially among men. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Beer, wine and spirits generate 0.73–2.38 kg of CO 2 equivalents per litre. • Alcohol intake generated 52 kg of CO 2 equivalents per person and year. • Alcohol intake among men generates 90% higher GHG emissions than among women. • GHG emissions from alcohol intake decrease with increasing age. • Alcohol intake in Sweden is responsible for about 3% of dietary GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased recognition of inter-relationships between the environmental and health effects of food has resulted in a new fast-growing research area. Development of methods for integrated analysis of environmental and nutritional impacts is essential to facilitate policy decisions and actions for sustainable food systems. Dietary quality scores is one of the methods suggested to combine environmental and nutritional assessments of foods, meals and diets. This systematic review provides an overview of how dietary quality scores are used in environmental sustainability studies of food products and diets. The review includes 24 articles applying 20 different types of dietary quality scores. We describe current approaches used to combine environmental and nutritional assessments, discuss methodological choices of importance and their impact on results, and identify research gaps that require further efforts to push the current frontier of knowledge. Based on our analysis we identify two different categories of dietary quality scores and four approaches used to integrate environmental and nutritional assessments. There is a large number of methods available to quantify a dietary quality score: which one is chosen as well as how they are combined with environmental assessments can affect the results, and hence also the conclusions of which foods that are more sustainable to eat. This is critical to understand for the set-up of studies and for the interpretation of results and drawing conclusions. Our categorization of existing methods used, how they differ, what applications they are suited for, and which methodological challenges they involve increases the understanding of what analyzes are possible today and point out areas where methods are lacking and where more research is required. Continued efforts are needed to bring about a transition to sustainable food systems that do not exceed the planets ecological limits and promote healthy populations. This systematic review provides guidance for future use and development of methods within the field of sustainable nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental impact of Swedish diets was assessed for six indicators (greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions, cropland use, nitrogen application, phosphorus application, consumptive water use and extinction rate), using self-reported food intake within two population-based cohorts of men and women, 56–96 years of age. The dietary environmental impact was assessed in relation to per capita planetary boundaries, overall and by population subgroups, addressing the relative importance of specific foods and food groups. The total average dietary impact exceeded the planetary boundaries by 1.6 to 4-fold for five of the six environmental indicators; consumptive water use did not exceed the boundaries. Comparing the highest with lowest quintiles of the population impact showed >2.5-fold differences across all environmental indicators. Of the diet's total average environmental impact, animal-based, plant-based and discretionary foods accounted for 28–83%, 8–40% and 9–37%, respectively, across the six indicators. Animal-based foods dominated the impact on GHG emissions, cropland use and nitrogen and phosphorus application, while plant-based and discretionary foods contributed more to consumptive water use and extinction rate. Environmental impact was driven predominantly by consumption of red meat, dairy, fresh fruit and coffee. The findings show major challenges in affluent countries that have to be addressed to achieving sustainable food production systems and diets. They provide guidance on critical food groups, environmental indicators and population subgroups to prioritize in future efforts to reduce the environmental impact. • Impact of self-reported diets in Swedish adults on six environmental indicators. • Planetary boundaries were exceeded up to 4-fold by all indicators except water use. • Environmental impact varied >2.5-fold between population subgroups. • Options for reduced dietary environmental impact varied depending on indicator used. • Identification of critical foods and indicators to prioritize in future policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global food production is identified as a great threat to the environment. In combination with technical advances in agriculture, dietary change is suggested to be necessary to reduce the environmental impact of the food system. In this article a systematic review assessing the environmental impact of dietary change is performed. The aims are to i) evaluate the scientific basis of dietary scenario analysis, ii) estimate the potential environmental effects of dietary change, iii) identify methodological aspects of importance for outcome and iv) identify current gaps in knowledge. The review includes 14 peer-reviewed journal articles assessing the GHG emissions and land use demand of in total 49 dietary scenarios. The results suggest that dietary change, in areas with affluent diet, could play an important role in reaching environmental goals, with up to 50% potential to reduce GHG emissions and land use demand associated with the current diet. The choice of functional unit, system boundaries and methods for scenario development and accounting for uncertainties are methodological aspects identified to have major influence on the quality and results of dietary scenario analysis. Further understanding of dietary change as a measure for more sustainable food systems requires improved knowledge of uncertainty in dietary scenario studies, environmental impact from substitutes and complements to meat and the effect of dietary change in different groups of populations and geographical locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We quantify nutritional, climate and land use effects of reduced meat consumption. [•] Dietary recommendations entail a 25% cut which notably reduce saturated fat intake. [•] Restriction in meat consumption is most critical for the intake of iron and zinc. [•] Greenhouse gases will be approximately halved but additional measures are needed. [•] Land demand is roughly halved but still correspond to a significant share. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Although food production is a main driver of environmental pressure and resource use globally, food delivers critical nutrition to humans. In life cycle assessment (LCA) of foods, the dominant functional unit is mass, despite the ISO requirement that the LCA unit should reflect the actual function. Studies have used various dietary quality scores in environmental assessments of foods, but the consideration of the dietary context is largely missing. The main function, i.e., nutrient supply, is complex since the nutritional value of a food item depends on its dietary context. Moreover, overall nutritional value is a combination of multiple nutrients. The aim was to combine scientific knowledge from the fields of nutrition and LCA to generate a basis for further research. The long-term aim was to help develop methods to support sustainability-based planning and decision making by food chain stakeholders. The proposed functional unit expresses the nutrient content of individual foods in relation to the nutritional supply of the complete diet, to create a single score reflecting the nutrient quality in a given dietary context. The nutrient quality index developed was evaluated by analyzing how relationships in global warming potential (GWP) between single products differed when using as functional unit either the mass of the food product, a nutrient quality index not considering the dietary context (the Nutrient Rich Foods Index 9.3, NRF9.3) and the new dietary dependent nutrient quality index (NQI) proposed. Two dietary scenarios were explored, an average Swedish diet and a typical unhealthy diet. The products considered were: bread, apples, tomatoes, milk, hard cheese, spread and chicken fillets. The results, calculated using bread as the reference, indicated that in both dietary contexts apples, tomatoes, and hard cheese had lower NQIadjusted GWPs compared to when GWPs were calculated using mass as the functional unit. Milk's NQI-adjusted and mass-calculated GWPs differed little, while the chicken fillet GWPs were the same in the unhealthy diet and performed better in the average diet. The NRF9.3-adjusted GWPs differed from the NQI-adjusted ones for all analysed foods. The main conclusions were: 1) considering nutritional value in the LCA of foods improves our understanding of how the environmental impacts and nutritional functions of food are related; 2) the environmental performance of different products varies with dietary context; and 3) application of the NQI could help industry, authorities, and consumers improve products and diets. Highlights • A method to include nutrition in the functional unit in food LCAs was developed. • By including the dietary context single foods' nutritional quality can be captured. • The method changed the relative environmental performance between products. • The dietary context impacted the results; hence it is if of relevance. • The method needs to be developed to be more generally applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an analysis of food system sustainability challenges and solutions among Swedish food system actors using Q-methodology, five perspectives were identified. One of the main three perspectives placed the highest priority on reduced meat consumption, food waste, and climate impact in agriculture, but downplayed strategies highlighted in the national food strategy and social aspects, and can be interpreted as a diagnostic climate mitigation-oriented perspective that does not reflect current negotiated policy processes or 'softer' values of food. In an alternative regenerative perspective, industrialized large-scale farming and lack of internalization of external costs were regarded as the main problems, and diversity, soil health, and organic farming as the main solutions. Proponents of a third perspective regarded phasing out fossil fuels, increased profitability of companies, increased meat production, and self-sufficiency as high priorities. These contrasting views can be a major barrier to transforming the Swedish food system. However, a number of entry points for change (i.e. aspects highly important for some and neutral for others) were identified, including focusing on healthy diets and increased production of fruit and vegetables. Focusing on these can build trust among stakeholders before moving to discussions about the larger and more sensitive systemic changes needed. • Stakeholder perceptions of food system sustainability were explored. • Three well-worn and two marginal perspectives were identified using Q-methodology. • Disagreements on sustainability problems and solutions pose a barrier to change. • Healthy diets, food waste, biodiversity are potential entry points for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]