The Dietary Carbon Footprint of Portuguese Adults: Defining and Assessing Mitigation Scenarios for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 15; no. 6; p. 5278
• Main Authors: Rocha, Cristóvão Fraga Andrade Pereira da, Silva, Catarina de Sousa Tavares Pinho da, Silva, Rafaela Martins da, Oliveira, Manuel Joaquim da Silva, Neto, Belmira de Almeida Ferreira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.03.2023
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Agriculture; Animal protein; Carbon dioxide; Carbon footprint; Climate change; Diet; Eating; Ecological footprint; Emissions; Environmental aspects; Environmental impact; Food chains; Food habits; Food products; Food research; Food sources; Footprint analysis; Greenhouse effect; Greenhouse gases; Habits; Land use; Meat; Methods; Mitigation; Proteins; Seafood; Sustainable consumption; Sustainable development; Vegetarianism; Portugal
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su15065278

The food chain is a large contributor to environmental pollution, especially greenhouse gas emissions, strongly associated with the consumption of animal-based proteins. The understanding of the negative environmental impacts of dietary habits by the population is of the utmost importance to provide the means to effect change to more sustainable eating patterns. The main purpose of this study was to assess the carbon footprint of animal protein consumption in Portugal, while also evaluating six mitigation scenarios aiming to lower greenhouse gas emissions through strategic changes to the animal protein consumption of current dietary habits. Overall, the carbon footprint associated with animal protein consumption is 2.63 kg CO2 eq/(cap⋅day) nationally and 28.4 t CO2 eq/month for the faculty canteen. Meat is by far the largest contributor to the carbon footprint in both cases, with beef being its “hotspot”. All scenarios showed significant reduction potentials, with values ranging from 16% (lower value for both the national case and the faculty canteen) to 71% (faculty canteen). In sum, substantial carbon footprint reductions can be attained if policymakers support the implementation of effective measures to promote a shift in the current animal protein consumption towards more sustainable eating habits.