Dietary modeling of greenhouse gases using OECD meat consumption/retail availability estimates

Susan J. Lincke; Joy J. Wolf

doi:10.1515/ijfe-2021-0352

Article

Dietary modeling of greenhouse gases using OECD meat consumption/retail availability estimates

Susan J. Lincke and Joy J. Wolf

Published/Copyright: January 25, 2023

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From the journal International Journal of Food Engineering Volume 19 Issue 1-2

Abstract

Research has demonstrated different carbon footprints, based on portion estimations. However, previous estimates are low and often omit the impact of food waste. For example, a high-level of daily meat consumption has been estimated at 100 g, which is less than a typical “quarter pounder” hamburger. We used the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) annual estimates of national retail availability, and applied a mathematical model to prorate other research results to determine a meat portion equal to current OECD statistics, and also projected the diets to 2500 and 3250 kcal, to include consumer and retail waste. Once prorated, the 14 national studies are contrasted and analyzed for reasonableness against OECD data pertaining to U.S., U.K., E.U., vegetarian and vegan diets. We quantify how previous studies underestimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and show that previous GHG study results for the highest tier most accurately predict average national dietary consumption.

Keywords: greenhouse gas emissions; modeling & simulation; retail meat availability; sustainable diet; vegetarian diet

Corresponding author: Susan J. Lincke, Department of Computer Science, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, 900 Wood Road, Kenosha, WI, USA, E-mail: lincke@uwp.edu

Acknowledgements

We want to thank previous research authors for their thorough jobs and clarity in detail. We recognize the usefulness of their studies which offer a foundation that forms a framework of accuracy. This evaluation was possible through the variety of ideas and convergence of numbers enabled by many well-documented studies.

Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Received: 2021-01-18

Accepted: 2022-12-16

Published Online: 2023-01-25

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijfe-2021-0352

Keywords for this article

greenhouse gas emissions; modeling & simulation; retail meat availability; sustainable diet; vegetarian diet