In the study, researchers at the George Institute for Global Health and Imperial College London showed that swapping out frozen meat lasagna for a vegetarian option could increase the reduction by 71 percent.
"Significant changes in dietary habits are needed if we are to meet global emissions targets, especially in high-income countries such as Australia, the UK and the US," said lead author and epidemiologist Dr Alison Goins.
However, he lamented that even though many people are "willing to choose more sustainable food options", they "lack reliable information to identify environmentally friendly alternatives".
For the study published in the journal Nature Food, the team calculated the estimated emissions of annual grocery purchases from 7,000 Australian households using information on ingredients, weight and produce life cycles. The results showed that switching to similar sub-categories of food could cut emissions in Australia by 26 per cent, equivalent to taking more than 1.9 million cars off the road.
Dr Gaines stressed "the need to put emissions information on product labels", noting that swapping could prove healthy and even nutritious.
In the study, the team found that meat products account for nearly half (49 percent) of greenhouse gas emissions, but only 11 percent of total purchases, in contrast, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes represent a quarter (25 percent). Do it. Of all purchases, however, they were responsible for only 5 percent of emissions.
"We found that the swaps would lead to a slight reduction in the proportion of ultra-processed foods purchased, which is a positive result as they are generally less healthy," Dr Goins said.
"Significant changes in dietary habits are needed if we are to meet global emissions targets, especially in high-income countries such as Australia, the UK and the US," said lead author and epidemiologist Dr Alison Goins.
However, he lamented that even though many people are "willing to choose more sustainable food options", they "lack reliable information to identify environmentally friendly alternatives".
For the study published in the journal Nature Food, the team calculated the estimated emissions of annual grocery purchases from 7,000 Australian households using information on ingredients, weight and produce life cycles. The results showed that switching to similar sub-categories of food could cut emissions in Australia by 26 per cent, equivalent to taking more than 1.9 million cars off the road.
Dr Gaines stressed "the need to put emissions information on product labels", noting that swapping could prove healthy and even nutritious.
In the study, the team found that meat products account for nearly half (49 percent) of greenhouse gas emissions, but only 11 percent of total purchases, in contrast, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes represent a quarter (25 percent). Do it. Of all purchases, however, they were responsible for only 5 percent of emissions.
"We found that the swaps would lead to a slight reduction in the proportion of ultra-processed foods purchased, which is a positive result as they are generally less healthy," Dr Goins said.
