Editor’s choice
SEI’s Chris West was one of a team of experts consulted by Women’s Health Magazine to help create their list of the top 30 best health food products. Chris explains the environmental issues linked to dairy, coffee and meat consumption and suggests ways we can shrink our environmental footprint when doing our food shopping.
Photo: Oscar Wong / Getty Images.
SEI’s Chris West was asked to contribute due to his background in supply chain and food systems sustainability. Chris leads SEI York’s Sustainable Consumption and Production group and is the Deputy Director of Research.
The Women’s Health article states that according to market researchers Kantar, the alt-dairy sector has doubled in the past five years. Chris notes:
“We know that plant-based dairy is going to be, on average, less environmentally damaging than its dairy equivalent, and oats in particular require less water than many other alternatives. I’d encourage consumers to think about whether there are small ways you can reduce your dairy intake if you don’t want to erase it entirely.”
Chris also commented on the environmental footprint of meat consumption:
“In terms of reducing your environmental impact, eating less meat is key. But if you still want to eat it, understanding where it’s coming from and being thoughtful about its welfare standards is important. Chickens being reared cheaply often involves a lot of soya being shipped from across the world to use as food, which can contribute to deforestation. Understanding these larger food systems is important when it comes to assessing your environmental footprint.”
The Women’s Health “top 30” list covers a wide range of food and drink products, from crisps and snacks to “complete foods”.
Project / Assessing trade in agricultural commodities e.g. palm oil and soybean production in environments at risk.
Tool / Input-Output Trade Analysis (IOTA) is an environmental footprinting tool linking data on commodity production with inter-industry buying and selling.
Project / IKnowFood explores sources of vulnerabilities on farms, in supply chains, and among consumers to provide a new model of food system resilience.
Project / Assessing trade in agricultural commodities e.g. palm oil and soybean production in environments at risk.
Journal article / This paper describes a rapid evidence synthesis to identify which forest-risk commodities imported to the UK have the highest overseas impacts.
Project / IKnowFood explores sources of vulnerabilities on farms, in supply chains, and among consumers to provide a new model of food system resilience.
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