Illustrative image of a supermarket in Houston, Texas in July 2022 (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Brandon Bell)
The researchers hope their study can enable consumers to shop more sustainably without sacrificing anything for their health.
Around 57,000 products sold in supermarkets in the UK and Ireland have been analyzed by scientists in a major study published by the specialist journal PNAS on Monday August 8. It shows in particular that eating fruits and vegetables is
better for the planet
than eating meat and cheese. But chips and sugary drinks also have a very low environmental impact.
The researchers who hope their study can make it possible for consumers
shop more sustainably
without sacrificing their health, also compared their results to the nutritional properties of these foods.
Syrups, lemonades and other fruit juices are among the products sold
lowest environmental impact
– because they consist mainly of water – but theirs
nutritional quality is poor
show the study. However, the researchers believe that in general are also the most durable products
nutritionally best.
Analysis of products with multiple ingredients
This work thus confirms what other studies have already advanced by analyzing individual ingredients (fruit, red meat, etc.). What is new is that the analysis here focuses on this
Products with many ingredients
(sauces, ready meals, etc.).
The task is difficult because of the amount of each ingredient
considered a manufacturing secret
and therefore not very detailed: only about 3% of the more than 57,000 products sold by eight food retailers had a fully quantified composition.
So did scientists
developed an algorithm
to rely on the little known information to assess the proportion of missing ingredients – in the UK and Ireland in particular the components are listed by the amount used.
Four Factors
To assess the impact on the environment,
Four factors were considered:
Greenhouse gas emissions, use of limited water resources, land use and aquatic eutrophication (water pollution).
Bread, but also certain cereals, certain ready meals or desserts (cakes, biscuits, etc.) pollute the environment
relatively low or medium.
On the other hand, fish, cheese and meat, especially red meat (lamb, beef) have an effect
strong influence.
“Replacing meat, dairy and eggs with plant-based alternatives would have made this possible
great benefits for the environment”,
Note the authors of the study.
but
smaller transitions
can also help. For example, beef lasagne could be replaced with chicken or pork lasagne, or even vegetarian, with a high environmental impact.
In the future, it would help to know better the dosages and origin of the different ingredients
determine more precisely
their impact on the environment, the researchers note.