Assessing the Carbon Emission Driven by the Consumption of Carbohydrate-Rich Foods: The Case of China
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Background: Carbohydrate-rich (CR) foods are essential parts of the Chinese diet. However, CR foods are often given less attention than animal-based foods. The objectives of this study were to analyze the carbon emissions caused by CR foods and to generate sustainable diets with
low climate impact and adequate nutrients.
Methods: Twelve common CR food consumption records from 4857 individuals were analyzed using K-means clustering algorithms. Furthermore, linear
programming was used to generate optimized diets.
Results: Total carbon emissions by CR foods was 683.38g CO2eq per day per capita, accounting for an annual total of 341.9Mt CO2eq. All individuals
were ultimately divided into eight clusters, and none of the popular clusters were low carbon or nutrient sufficient. Optimized diets could reduce about 40% of carbon emissions compared to the average current diet. However, significant structural differences exist between the current diet and
optimized diets.
Conclusions: To reduce carbon emissions from the food chain, CR foods should be a research focus. Current Chinese diets need a big change to achieve positive environmental and health goals. The reduction of rice and wheat-based foods and
JOUR
Yang, Xiaoke
Zhang, Zhihang
Chen, Huangyixin
Zhao, Rongrong
Xu, Zhongyue
Xie, Anguo
Chen, Qiuhua
2019
Sustainability
11
7
1875
2827