What Environmental Metrics Are Used in Scientific Research to Estimate the Impact of Human Diets?

Background/objectives: Metrics drive diagnosis, and metrics will also drive our response to the challenge of climate change. Recognising how current scientific research defines and uses metrics of the environmental impact of human diets is essential to understand which foods, food groups, or dietary patterns are associated with a higher environmental impact.

Methods: This research, aided by artificial intelligence (AI), aimed to search, map, and synthesise current evidence on the commonly used definitions and metrics of the environmental impacts of human diets.

Results: We identified 466 studies measuring the environmental impact of diets. Most studies were from North American or European countries (67%), with data mainly from high-income countries (81%). Most studies did not include methods to recall the provenance of the foods consumed. Most (53%) of the studies only used one metric to estimate the environmental impact of human diets, with 82% of the studies using GHGE.

Conclusions: Agreement on how the environmental impact of diets is measured and more comprehensive and accurate data on the environmental impact of single foods is essential to better understand what changes in food systems are needed, at a consumer and policy level, to make a well-meaning change towards a more sustainable diet.