Healthy diets can cost less and cut emissions ^{CEFR B1}

Researchers at a university led a global study that finds healthy diets can both cost less and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions than many current diets. The work appears in the journal Nature Food and addresses policy debates about cutting food system emissions without increasing food insecurity.

The team identified locally available food items that could meet basic nutritional needs using the Healthy Diet Basket targets used by UN agencies and national governments. For each food item they compiled three kinds of data: availability and price in each country, the share of the country’s food supply it represented, and the global average greenhouse gas emissions linked to that product. For each country the authors modeled five diets and compared their costs and emissions.

The study shows that choosing less expensive options within food groups tends to lower a diet’s climate footprint. There are tradeoffs for animal-source foods and starchy staples, so selections vary by country. The authors say the results can help consumers, companies and governments find more sustainable and affordable diets.