Research Blog

Optimal DX Hot Topics: Food Choices Affect Our Bodies & Environment

Food fuels us. It provides us with the energy and building blocks needed to sustain our bodies and health.

However, large-scale food production, processing, and transportation have contributed to an unsustainable trend that pollutes, increases carbon footprints, and compromises health.

A carbon footprint is generally “the amount of greenhouse gas and, specifically, carbon dioxide emitted by something (such as a person’s activities or a product’s manufacture and transport) during a given period.”

The contribution of a food to its carbon footprint depends on land use, farm equipment, animal feed production, transportation, and packaging.

Highest carbon footprint = Highest environmental impact

High in processed foods and saturated fat
Food processing requires more energy and produces more plastic waste.
High in meat from ruminant animals, e.g., cattle and sheep
Ruminant meat has an environmental impact 20–100 times that of plants.
Non-ruminant animal products, e.g., milk, eggs, pork, poultry, and seafood, have impacts 2–25 times higher per gram of protein and per kilocalorie of food produced than plants do.
Tend to increase the risk of adverse health effects, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

Smaller carbon footprint = Lowest environmental impact

Moderate consumption of chicken, pork, and fish
Emphasis on locally grown fruits and vegetables
Minimize processed food
Climatarian
Mediterranean
Vegan
Tend to decrease the risk of adverse health effects, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

6 Popular Diets in the USA

Diet	General Criteria	Health Benefits	Environmental Considerations
Standard American “Western”	Meals with five food categories (grains, protein, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and oils on the side). Often inadequate intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole foods. Tends to be high in salt, sugar, saturated fats, or processed foods that can be highly palatable and trigger “addictive-like” behavior. Highly processed foods often contain synthetic sweeteners, engineered oils, and syrups.	Variable. Balanced diets that focus on whole foods show a reduced risk of disease, while imbalanced and heavily processed diets show the opposite effect. Including adequate fruits, vegetables, and whole foods can reduce disease risk.	Higher impact
Mediterranean	Emphasizes whole grains, fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, fish, olive oil, meat, dairy, egg products, and red wine in moderation. Excludes processed foods and “bad” fats.	Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.	Lower impact
Vegan	Excludes animal-based foods and animal-derived ingredients, including honey, gelatin, and rennet. Healthy versions focus on fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, seaweed, and plant-based oils. Should include high-quality plant protein sources, e.g., tofu, lentils, nuts, seeds, and vegetables. In general, may be low in omega-3 fatty acids, iron, calcium, vitamins B2, B3, B12, D, zinc, and iodine.	Variable. Balanced diets that focus on whole foods reduce the risk of disease, while imbalanced and heavily processed diets have the opposite effect.	Lower impact
Paleo	Focuses on foods obtained during hunting and gathering, such as lean meats, seeds, eggs, fruits, and vegetable Excludes processed foods, refined/artificial sugars, salt, grains, legumes, and most dairy products. May be low in iodine, vitamins B1, B2, D, calcium, and iron.	Generally, has a positive impact on health, reduces disease risk, reduces blood pressure, and improves blood lipids.	Higher impact
Keto	Emphasizes foods rich in fat and protein. Significantly limits carbohydrates such as sugars, grains, and many fruits and vegetables.	Individual variation, although general success in short-term weight loss.	Higher impact
Climatarian	Emphasizes local, seasonal, and fresh food that requires minimal transportation, refrigeration, and processing. Limits pork, poultry, and sustainable fish consumption. Excludes ruminant meats (lamb, goat, beef). Can include flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, and plant-based diets.	Unknown, although similarities in composition to the Mediterranean diet.	Lower impact

A “flexitarian” diet is healthy for humans and their environment and provides:

Appropriate calorie level
Diversity of plant-based foods
Unsaturated instead of saturated fats
Limited amounts of animal-sourced foods
Limited amounts of highly processed foods, refined grains, and added sugars
Smaller carbon footprint

Optimal Takeaways

Large-scale food production, processing, and transportation contribute to pollution, increased carbon footprints, and compromised health, mainly due to factors like land use, farm equipment, animal feed production, transportation, and packaging.
Foods high in processed ingredients and saturated fats, especially those from ruminant animals like cattle and sheep, have the highest environmental impact and are associated with health risks such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.
Diets with a smaller carbon footprint emphasize locally grown fruits and vegetables, moderate consumption of chicken, pork, and fish, and minimally processed foods, which tend to decrease the risk of adverse health effects.
A "flexitarian" diet promotes environmental sustainability and health by providing appropriate calorie levels, diverse plant-based foods, unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats, and limited amounts of animal-sourced and highly processed foods.
Different dietary patterns have varying health benefits and environmental impacts; for example, the Mediterranean and vegan diets offer health benefits and lower environmental impact, while standard Western, paleo, and keto diets may have higher environmental impacts and variable health effects.

Reference

Dixon KA, Michelsen MK, Carpenter CL. Modern Diets and the Health of Our Planet: An Investigation into the Environmental Impacts of Food Choices. Nutrients. 2023;15(3):692. Published 2023 Jan 30. doi:10.3390/nu15030692 This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Tag(s): Conditions Treatment Nutrients