Plant-Based Lunch at Work: Effects on Nutrient Intake, Environmental Impact and Tastiness—A Case Study

Mirjam E. Van de Kamp and Elisabeth H. M. Temme
Additional contact information
Mirjam E. Van de Kamp: Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
Elisabeth H. M. Temme: Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the environmental impact, nutrient intake, appreciation and tastiness of three buffet-style lunches served at the workplace, consisting of (1) animal-based foods; (2) plant-based foods; and (3) both animal-based and plant-based foods. Employees of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands participated in the study. Participants scored the lunch for appreciation and tastiness (scores from 1 to 10). Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use associated with foods consumed were calculated using life cycle assessments. Nutrient intake was calculated using food composition data. The results show that both the plant-based and the combination lunch received higher scores for tastiness than the animal-based lunch. GHG emissions and land use were lowest for the plant-based lunch and highest for the animal-based lunch. The combination lunch was associated with increased fiber and decreased saturated fat intake compared to the animal-based lunch, but also lead to increased energy intake. The plant-based lunch did not increase energy intake, while increasing fiber intake and decreasing sodium (salt) and saturated fat intakes. These initial results show that plant-based lunches have the potential to improve nutrient intake and tastiness while reducing environmental impact. Additional research in this field is worthwhile.

Keywords: sustainable diet; greenhouse gas emissions; land use; nutrient intake; lunch; workplace (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/1/227/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/1/227/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:1:p:227-:d:127349

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().