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Washington (AFP) – It is better to eat fruits and vegetables than meat and cheese for the good of the planet, but the impact of chips and sugary drinks is also very low, highlights a study published this Monday.
That was the conclusion reached by scientists who analyzed some 57,000 products sold in supermarkets in the United Kingdom and Ireland, according to the scientific journal PNAS.
The researchers, who hope their study can help consumers shop more sustainably, compared their results with the nutritional properties of these foods.
Syrups, soft drinks or other fruit juices are also among the products sold with the least environmental impact, because they are basically made up of water, but their nutritional quality is low, the study indicates.
But in general, researchers believe that the most sustainable products are the best nutritionally.
This work confirms the conclusions of other studies on single ingredients (fruits, red meat, etc.). The novelty is that here the analysis refers to products made up of multiple ingredients (sauces, prepared foods, etc.).
The task is difficult because the amount of each ingredient is a trade secret and therefore not very detailed: only around 3% of the more than 57,000 products, sold by eight retailers, had a quantified composition.
This forced scientists to develop an algorithm based on the little known information to assess the ratio of ingredients. In the UK and Ireland the components are listed in order of the amount used from most to least.
What is the environmental impact of food in the supermarket?
To assess the environmental impact, four factors were considered: greenhouse gas emissions, use of limited water resources, land use, and eutrophication (water pollution).
Bread, some cereals, certain prepared dishes or desserts (sweets, biscuits, etc.) have a relatively low or intermediate environmental impact.
But that of fish, cheese and meat, especially red meat (lamb, veal), is high.
“Substituting meat, dairy, and eggs with plant-based alternatives could have major environmental benefits,” the study authors say.
But “smaller” transitions can also help.
For example, veal lasagna, which has a strong environmental impact, could be replaced by chicken or pork lasagna, or even vegetarian.
In the future, a better understanding of the amounts and origin of different ingredients will help to more accurately determine their impact on the environment, the researchers say.
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