The environmental cost of subsistence: Optimizing diets to minimize footprints

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 553; pp. 120 - 127
• Main Authors: Gephart, Jessica A., Davis, Kyle F., Emery, Kyle A., Leach, Allison M., Galloway, James N., Pace, Michael L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15.05.2016
• Subjects: algorithms; animal products; Aquaculture; aquaculture feeds; Carbon Footprint; Conservation of Natural Resources - economics; diet; Diet - statistics & numerical data; Diet optimization; dietary recommendations; environmental impact; fish; Fisheries; food prices; food production; greenhouse gas emissions; Humans; Land footprint; land use; livestock; nitrogen; Nitrogen footprint; nutrient content; nutrient requirements; plant-based foods; Seafood; seafoods; Sustainability; United States; Water footprint; USA; United States; Land footprint; Diet optimization; Nitrogen footprint; Sustainability; Carbon footprint; Water footprint

The question of how to minimize monetary cost while meeting basic nutrient requirements (a subsistence diet) was posed by George Stigler in 1945. The problem, known as Stigler's diet problem, was famously solved using the simplex algorithm. Today, we are not only concerned with the monetary cos...