The compatibility of circularity and national dietary recommendations for animal products in five European countries: a modelling analysis on nutritional feasibility, climate impact, and land use

Circular food system approaches can support current European protein intake levels while reducing land use and greenhouse gas emissions

Protein transition and circular food system transition are two proposed strategies for supporting food system sustainability. Here we model animal-sourced protein to plant-sourced protein ratios within a European circular food system, finding that maintaining the current animal-plant protein share while redesigning the system with circular principles resulted in the largest relative reduction of 44% in land use and 70% in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with the current food system. Shifting from a 60:40 to a 40:60 ratio of animal-sourced proteins to plant-sourced proteins yielded a 60% reduction in land use and an 81% GHG emission reduction, while supporting nutritionally adequate diets. Differences between current and recommended total protein intake did not substantially impact minimal land use and GHG emissions. Micronutrient inadequacies occurred with less than 18 g animal protein per capita per day. Redesigning the food system varied depending on whether land use or GHG emissions were reduced-highlighting the need for a food system approach when designing policies to enhance human and planetary health.

Participatory modelling of scenarios to restore nitrogen cycles in a nutrient-saturated area

This paper aims to find socially acceptable solutions of circularity as measure to reduce nitrogen (N) losses and prevent environmental damage by combining participatory modelling and scenario Substance Flow Analyses (SFA). A local perspective was taken on the agro-food-waste system in the animal production-dominated German district Cleves. Three scenarios were programmed as Monte Carlo simulation of SFA with stakeholder input regarding crop allocation, livestock composition, livestock reduction, and manure allocation following the elimination of feed imports. The three scenarios either utilized the unaltered stakeholder input (PS), altered crop allocation to satisfy the demand for feed (CBS), or adjusted the livestock numbers to match the locally available feed (LBS). In the reference year (2020) agricultural losses amounted to 68 kg N year-1 ha-1 agricultural land and 116 kg N in feed was imported year-1 ha-1 agricultural land. In the PS feed import elimination led to deficits in feed availability. The LBS showed the biggest reduction of agricultural N losses and improved N use efficiency (+6 %), however agricultural losses were still high (50 kg N year-1 ha-1 agricultural land). The results show a limited effect of feed import elimination on N losses if no further measures are taken, such as reduced consumption of animal-based products. Further, the study shows that it is important to improve stakeholders' knowledge about approaches to circular agro-food-waste systems. The discrepancy between stakeholder visions and N circularity provide policy makers with the recommendation to improve stakeholders' visions of a circular agro-food-waste system.

Interventions to increase circularity and reduce environmental impacts in food systems

Applying specific circularity interventions to the food system may have environmental benefits. Using an iterative linear food system optimisation model (FOODSOM), we assess how changes in human diets, imports and exports, and the utilisation of waste streams impact land use and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). After including these circularity principles, land use and GHG emissions were on average 40% and 68% lower than in the current food system, primarily driven by a reduction in production volumes and a shift towards feeding the domestic population. Shifting from the current diet to a circular diet decreased land use with 43% and GHG emissions with 52%. Allowing up to half of each nutrient in the human diet to be imported, while balancing imports with equal exports in terms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, also decreased land use (up to 34%) and GHG emissions (up to 26%) compared to no imported food. Our findings show that circularity interventions should not be implemented mutually exclusively; by combining a circular diet with imported food and fully utilising waste streams, the lowest land use and GHG emissions can be realised.

Circularity in Europe strengthens the sustainability of the global food system

Redesigning the European food system on the basis of circularity principles could bring environmental benefits for Europe and the world. Here we deploy a biophysical optimization model to explore the effects of adopting three circularity scenarios in the European Union (EU)27 + UK. We calculate a potential reduction of 71% in agricultural land use and 29% per capita in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, while producing enough healthy food within a self-sufficient European food system. Under global food shortages, savings in agricultural land could be used to feed an additional 767 million people outside the EU (+149%), while reducing per capita greenhouse gas emissions by 38% but increasing overall emissions by 55% due to the increased population served. Transitioning the EU's food system towards circularity implies sequential changes among all its components and has great potential to safeguard human and planetary health.

Friend or Foe? The Role of Animal-Source Foods in Healthy and Environmentally Sustainable Diets

Scientific and political discussions around the role of animal-source foods (ASFs) in healthy and environmentally sustainable diets are often polarizing. To bring clarity to this important topic, we critically reviewed the evidence on the health and environmental benefits and risks of ASFs, focusing on primary trade-offs and tensions, and summarized the evidence on alternative proteins and protein-rich foods. ASFs are rich in bioavailable nutrients commonly lacking globally and can make important contributions to food and nutrition security. Many populations in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia could benefit from increased consumption of ASFs through improved nutrient intakes and reduced undernutrition. Where consumption is high, processed meat should be limited, and red meat and saturated fat should be moderated to lower noncommunicable disease risk-this could also have cobenefits for environmental sustainability. ASF production generally has a large environmental impact; yet, when produced at the appropriate scale and in accordance with local ecosystems and contexts, ASFs can play an important role in circular and diverse agroecosystems that, in certain circumstances, can help restore biodiversity and degraded land and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from food production. The amount and type of ASF that is healthy and environmentally sustainable will depend on the local context and health priorities and will change over time as populations develop, nutritional concerns evolve, and alternative foods from new technologies become more available and acceptable. Efforts by governments and civil society organizations to increase or decrease ASF consumption should be considered in light of the nutritional and environmental needs and risks in the local context and, importantly, integrally involve the local stakeholders impacted by any changes. Policies, programs, and incentives are needed to ensure best practices in production, curb excess consumption where high, and sustainably increase consumption where low.

Plant-Based Innovations for the Transition to Sustainability: A Bibliometric and in-Depth Content Analysis

Plants maintain the ecological equilibrium of the earth and stabilize the ecosystem. Today, traditional commodities and new value-added markets can be served simultaneously. There is significant biosource and bioprocess innovation for biobased industrial products. Furthermore, plant-based innovation is associated with the transition to sustainability. This study performed a bibliometric and in-depth content analysis to review plant-based innovations in the research field between 1995 and 2022. A set of 313 articles was identified from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Different analytical scientometric tools (topic mapping and overlay visualization networks) were used to analyze 124 articles; the most influential countries, institutions, authors, journals and articles were identified. Through in-depth studies, based on the grounded theory approach, five leading research areas related to plant-based innovation were determined: (1) agricultural/environmental innovation, (2) plant-based food or feed innovation, (3) innovation within the medical/pharmaceutical research area, (4) technology-related innovation and (5) economic/business aspects of plant-based innovations. Future research directions include exploring less examined and new topics, such as the sustainability implications of incorporating various plant-based foods and Industry 4.0 in plant-based innovation, and linking and developing findings from different research areas.