New Delhi: A research analyzing the purchases of 7,000 Australian households has found that replacing food and drinks with more eco-friendly alternatives can cut greenhouse gas emissions from groceries by 26 per cent.
According to the researchers, roughly the same amount of emissions would be reduced if more than 19 lakh cars were taken off the road in the country.
Making big changes, such as replacing frozen meat lasagna with vegetable alternatives, could reduce emissions by 71 percent, he said.
To do this, the authors called for on-pack labeling of greenhouse gas emissions for every packaged food product so consumers can make informed choices.
"Although consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of food systems and are willing to choose more sustainable food options, they still have a limited number of environmentally friendly alternatives," said epidemiologist Allison Goins, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature. There is a lack of reliable information to identify."Nature food.
For their analysis, the researchers used the FoodSwitch database created by the George Institute, UK, for information on ingredients, weight and production life cycle.
More than 22,000 grocery products were classified into major, minor and sub-categories of food items so that emissions could be saved by switching between groups.
For example, while 'bread and bakery' would be a staple food, 'bread' would be a secondary food and 'white bread' would be a sub-category, the researchers explained.
"Switching from a high-emission product to a 'very similar' low-emission product could reduce total emissions by 26 percent," the authors wrote. Switching to a 'very similar' low-emission product could reduce emissions by 71 percent. There may be a shortage.,
“Significant changes in dietary habits are needed if we are to meet global emissions targets, especially in high-income countries like Australia, the UK and the US.
"The results of our study show the potential to significantly reduce your environmental impact by switching from like-to-like products," Gaines said.
The analysis also showed that while meat products make up nearly half of greenhouse gas emissions, they make up only 11 percent of all grocery purchases.
Furthermore, the researchers found that even though fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes accounted for about a quarter of all purchases, they were responsible for only five percent of emissions.
The authors estimate that in 2019, there were more than 31 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from domestically consumed products in Australia.Furthermore, the average emissions per capita that year were 1.41 tonnes, while the average emissions per household that year were 3.23 tonnes, as estimated.
They also found that the three most emissions-intensive food categories per product were meat-based foods, which caused almost seven kilograms of emissions, confectionery, which caused 5.6 kilograms of emissions, and dairy, which caused more than four kilograms of emissions.
According to the authors, the study is the most detailed analysis of the environmental impacts of a country's food purchasing behavior, using comprehensive data on greenhouse gas emissions and sales of supermarket products, which is common in many Western countries.
According to the researchers, roughly the same amount of emissions would be reduced if more than 19 lakh cars were taken off the road in the country.
Making big changes, such as replacing frozen meat lasagna with vegetable alternatives, could reduce emissions by 71 percent, he said.
To do this, the authors called for on-pack labeling of greenhouse gas emissions for every packaged food product so consumers can make informed choices.
"Although consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of food systems and are willing to choose more sustainable food options, they still have a limited number of environmentally friendly alternatives," said epidemiologist Allison Goins, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature. There is a lack of reliable information to identify."Nature food.
For their analysis, the researchers used the FoodSwitch database created by the George Institute, UK, for information on ingredients, weight and production life cycle.
More than 22,000 grocery products were classified into major, minor and sub-categories of food items so that emissions could be saved by switching between groups.
For example, while 'bread and bakery' would be a staple food, 'bread' would be a secondary food and 'white bread' would be a sub-category, the researchers explained.
"Switching from a high-emission product to a 'very similar' low-emission product could reduce total emissions by 26 percent," the authors wrote. Switching to a 'very similar' low-emission product could reduce emissions by 71 percent. There may be a shortage.,
“Significant changes in dietary habits are needed if we are to meet global emissions targets, especially in high-income countries like Australia, the UK and the US.
"The results of our study show the potential to significantly reduce your environmental impact by switching from like-to-like products," Gaines said.
The analysis also showed that while meat products make up nearly half of greenhouse gas emissions, they make up only 11 percent of all grocery purchases.
Furthermore, the researchers found that even though fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes accounted for about a quarter of all purchases, they were responsible for only five percent of emissions.
The authors estimate that in 2019, there were more than 31 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from domestically consumed products in Australia.Furthermore, the average emissions per capita that year were 1.41 tonnes, while the average emissions per household that year were 3.23 tonnes, as estimated.
They also found that the three most emissions-intensive food categories per product were meat-based foods, which caused almost seven kilograms of emissions, confectionery, which caused 5.6 kilograms of emissions, and dairy, which caused more than four kilograms of emissions.
According to the authors, the study is the most detailed analysis of the environmental impacts of a country's food purchasing behavior, using comprehensive data on greenhouse gas emissions and sales of supermarket products, which is common in many Western countries.
