An Environmental Impact Calculator for 24-h Diet Recalls

Thomas Bryan, Andrea Hicks, Bruce Barrett and Catherine Middlecamp
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Thomas Bryan: Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Andrea Hicks: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Bruce Barrett: Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Catherine Middlecamp: Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 23, 1-8

Abstract: The production of food is associated with significant environmental impact. In this paper, we describe the first assessment of the environmental impact of food consumption in the United States using individually reported dietary intake data from a nationally representative sample. Using individual-level dietary intake data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and applying median environmental impact factors compiled by Poore and Nemecek (2018), we estimate that the daily diet that a non-institutionalized U.S. civilian reports results in a mean of 3.92 m 2 (95% CI: 3.51–4.34) of land used, 2.26 kg (95% CI: 2.09–2.42)of CO 2 e emitted, and 159 L (95% CI: 150–168) of freshwater withdrawn. The scope of all impacts is agricultural; transportation, storage, and preparation were not included. These results suggest that the calculator is ready for further development. This calculator can be used to estimate the environmental impact of individual diets in the 5100 studies (as of November 2018) registered with the Automated Self-Administered 24-h Dietary Assessment Tool, in addition to the last two decades of the nationally representative NHANES research.

Keywords: environmental impact; dietary assessment; automated self-administered dietary assessment tool (ASA24); 24-h dietary recall; National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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