scholarly journals Environmental Impact of the Average Hong Kong Diet: A Case for Adopting Sustainable Diets in Urban Centers

Challenges ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Tsz Wing Tang ◽  
Tanja Sobko
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Meat Products ◽  
Environmental Footprint ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
Sustainable Diets ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Global Population

As global population growth continues, the rapidly increasing demand for food and the environmental impact of this demand is a growing concern. Most food in Hong Kong is imported, which has implications for the associated environmental footprint. The carbon and water footprints (CF and WF) of the average Hong Kong diet were estimated from available sources and compared to well-accepted sustainable diets to characterize environmental sustainability. The total CF was 5701.90 g CO2-eq per capita/day, and the WF was 4782.31 L per capita/day. While meat products contributed only 22% to the weight, they were responsible for 57% and 53% of the total CF and WF, respectively. The impacts of the Hong Kong diet were greater than those of well-accepted sustainable diets, possibly due to the heavy consumption of meat and the import of foods. This confirms an urgency to increase environmental awareness among Hong Kong’s consumers and make interventions toward the adoption of sustainable, plant-based diets.

scholarly journals Sustainable Diets in the UK—Developing a Systematic Framework to Assess the Environmental Impact, Cost and Nutritional Quality of Household Food Purchases

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 4974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Wrieden ◽  
Joel Halligan ◽  
Louis Goffe ◽  
Karen Barton ◽  
Ilkka Leinonen
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Dietary Guidelines ◽  
Income Quintile ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Sustainable Diets ◽  
Food Items

Sustainable diets should not only respect the environment but also be healthy and affordable. However, there has been little work to assess whether real diets can encompass all three aspects. The aim of this study was to develop a framework to quantify actual diet records for health, affordability and environmental sustainability and apply this to UK food purchase survey data. We applied a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to detailed food composition data where purchased food items were disaggregated into their components with traceable environmental impact data. This novel approach is an improvement to earlier studies in which sustainability assessments were based on a limited number of “food groups”, with a potentially high variation of actual food items within each group. Living Costs and Food Survey data for 2012, 2013 and 2014 were mapped into published figures for greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE, taking into account processing, transport and cooking) and land use, a diet quality index (DQI) based on dietary guidelines and food cost, all standardised per household member. Households were classified as having a ‘more sustainable’ diet based on GHGE, cost and land use being less than the median and DQI being higher than the median. Only 16.6% of households could be described as more sustainable; this rose to 22% for those in the lowest income quintile. Increasing the DQI criteria to >80% resulted in only 100 households being selected, representing 0.8% of the sample. The framework enabled identification of more sustainable households, providing evidence of how we can move toward better diets in terms of the environment, health, and costs.

scholarly journals Improving the Sustainability of Dairy Slurry by A Commercial Additive Treatment

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 4998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Borgonovo ◽  
Cecilia Conti ◽  
Daniela Lovarelli ◽  
Valentina Ferrante ◽  
Marcella Guarino
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Mineral Fertilizer ◽  
Cattle Slurry ◽  
N Loss ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Environmental Impact Categories ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Ammonia (NH3), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from livestock farms contribute to negative environmental impacts such as acidification and climate change. A significant part of these emissions is produced from the decomposition of slurry in livestock facilities, during storage and treatment phases. This research aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the additive “SOP LAGOON” (made of agricultural gypsum processed with proprietary technology) on (i) NH3 and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, (ii) slurry properties and N loss. Moreover, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was applied to assess the potential environmental impact associated with stored slurry treated with the additive. Six barrels were filled with 65 L of cattle slurry, of which three were used as a control while the additive was used in the other three. The results indicated that the use of the additive led to a reduction of total nitrogen, nitrates, and GHG emissions. LCA confirmed the higher environmental sustainability of the scenario with the additive for some environmental impact categories among which climate change. In conclusion, the additive has beneficial effects on both emissions and the environment, and the nitrogen present in the treated slurry could partially displace a mineral fertilizer, which can be considered an environmental credit.

scholarly journals Thermal Characterization of Recycled Materials for Building Insulation

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3564
Author(s):  
Arnas Majumder ◽  
Laura Canale ◽  
Costantino Carlo Mastino ◽  
Antonio Pacitto ◽  
Andrea Frattolillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Natural Fibers ◽  
Thermal Characterization ◽  
Recycled Materials ◽  
Building Insulation ◽  
Operational Phase

The building sector is known to have a significant environmental impact, considering that it is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions of around 36% and is also responsible for about 40% of global energy consumption. Of this, about 50% takes place during the building operational phase, while around 10–20% is consumed in materials manufacturing, transport and building construction, maintenance, and demolition. Increasing the necessity of reducing the environmental impact of buildings has led to enhancing not only the thermal performances of building materials, but also the environmental sustainability of their production chains and waste prevention. As a consequence, novel thermo-insulating building materials or products have been developed by using both locally produced natural and waste/recycled materials that are able to provide good thermal performances while also having a lower environmental impact. In this context, the aim of this work is to provide a detailed analysis for the thermal characterization of recycled materials for building insulation. To this end, the thermal behavior of different materials representing industrial residual or wastes collected or recycled using Sardinian zero-km locally available raw materials was investigated, namely: (1) plasters with recycled materials; (2) plasters with natural fibers; and (3) building insulation materials with natural fibers. Results indicate that the investigated materials were able to improve not only the energy performances but also the environmental comfort in both new and in existing buildings. In particular, plasters and mortars with recycled materials and with natural fibers showed, respectively, values of thermal conductivity (at 20 °C) lower than 0.475 and 0.272 W/(m⋅K), while that of building materials with natural fibers was always lower than 0.162 W/(m⋅K) with lower values for compounds with recycled materials (0.107 W/(m⋅K)). Further developments are underway to analyze the mechanical properties of these materials.

scholarly journals China’s plastic import ban increases prospects of environmental impact mitigation of plastic waste trade flow worldwide

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zongguo Wen ◽  
Yiling Xie ◽  
Muhan Chen ◽  
Christian Doh Dinga
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Trade Flow ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Sharp Decline ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Waste Trade ◽  
Treatment Structure

AbstractSince the late 1990s, the trend of plastic waste shipment from developed to developing countries has been increasing. In 2017, China announced an unprecedented ban on its import of most plastic waste, resulting in a sharp decline in global plastic waste trade flow and changes in the treatment structure of countries, whose impacts on global environmental sustainability are enormous but yet unexamined. Here, through the life cycle assessment (LCA) method, we quantified the environmental impacts of changes in the flow patterns and treatment methods of 6 types of plastic waste in 18 countries subsequent to the ban. In the short term, the ban significantly improved four midpoint indicators of environmental impact, albeit contributed to global warming. An annual saving of about 2.35 billion euros of eco-cost was realized, which is equivalent to 56% of plastic waste global trade value in 2017. To achieve global environmental sustainability in the long run, countries should gradually realize the transition from export to domestic management, and from landfill to recycling, which would realize eco-costs savings of about 1.54–3.20 billion euros.

scholarly journals Environmental Sustainability and Economic Growth in Greenland: Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1228
Author(s):  
Javier Arnaut ◽  
Johanna Lidman
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Environmental Kuznets Curve ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Kuznets Curve ◽  
Distributed Lag ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Growing Economy ◽  
High Level

The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis assumes there is an inverted U-shape relationship between pollution and income per capita, implying an improvement in environmental quality when a growing economy reaches a high level of economic development. This study evaluated empirically the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve in Greenland for the period 1970–2018. Using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach, the results show evidence of a U-shaped EKC in Greenland instead of the hypothesized inverted U-shape. The findings indicate that Greenland had initially experienced a decoupling transition during an early development stage associated with structural conditions of a small subsistence economy. However, once the country began to expand its industry, the trend began to reverse, creating a positive and significant relationship between CO2 emissions and GDP per capita that is potentially detrimental to the Arctic natural environment.

scholarly journals Impact of a Telemedicine Program on the Reduction in the Emission of Atmospheric Pollutants and Journeys by Road

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (22) ◽  
pp. 4366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep Vidal-Alaball ◽  
Jordi Franch-Parella ◽  
Francesc Lopez Seguí ◽  
Francesc Garcia Cuyàs ◽  
Jacobo Mendioroz Peña
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Atmospheric Pollutants ◽  
Fuel Reduction ◽  
Environmental Footprint ◽  
Time Saving ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Total Travel Time ◽  
Hospital Visits

This retrospective study evaluates the effect of a telemedicine program developed in the central Catalan region in lowering the environmental footprint by reducing the emission of atmospheric pollutants, thanks to a reduction in the number of hospital visits involving journeys by road. Between January 2018 and June 2019, a total of 12,322 referrals were made to telemedicine services in the primary care centers, avoiding a total of 9034 face-to-face visits. In total, the distance saved was 192,682 km, with a total travel time saving of 3779 h and a total fuel reduction of 11,754 L with an associated cost of €15,664. This represents an average reduction of 3248.3 g of carbon dioxide, 4.05 g of carbon monoxide, 4.86 g of nitric oxide and 3.2 g of sulphur dioxide. This study confirms that telemedicine reduces the environmental impact of atmospheric pollutants emitted by vehicles by reducing the number of journeys made for face-to-face visits, and thus contributing to environmental sustainability.

scholarly journals Does Circular Reuse of Chickpea Cooking Water to Produce Vegan Mayonnaise Reduce Environmental Impact Compared with Egg Mayonnaise?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4726
Author(s):  
Sophie Saget ◽  
Marcela Costa ◽  
David Styles ◽  
Mike Williams
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Egg Yolk ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Environmental Footprint ◽  
Electricity Grid ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Oil Processing ◽  
Attributional Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Cooking Water ◽  
Renewable Electricity Generation

Consumers are increasingly asking for foods that are healthier, more humane, and environmentally sustainable. Recently, chickpea cooking water—aquafaba—has gained popularity as a potential egg substitute that complies with these criteria. However, research on the environmental impact of this ingredient is lacking. We performed a comparative attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) of mayonnaise made with aquafaba as the emulsifying agent, and traditional mayonnaise made with egg yolk. The vegan mayonnaise was found not to be as environmentally sustainable as the egg-based product. The vegan mayonnaise had a significantly (p < 0.05) lower impact across 4 categories, but a significantly higher impact across 8 categories out of 16, including climate change and resource-use-energy-carriers. The majority of categories under which vegan mayonnaise underperformed were related to the electricity needed for aquafaba processing. These impacts can be mitigated with a “cleaner” electricity grid, or onsite renewable electricity generation. Substituting the Mexican grid, where the aquafaba is currently processed, for the Canadian grid, where the mayonnaise is produced, reduced the carbon footprint of the vegan mayonnaise by 37%, making it similar to the egg-based product. As sunflower oil production was linked to extensive environmental burdens, we performed additional sensitivity analyses around oil processing, sunflower production, and other vegetable oils. Our study shows that substituting egg yolk with aquafaba could cause an increase in the environmental footprint of mayonnaise due to high processing costs, illustrating that vegan options do not always have a smaller environmental footprint, and can represent a trade-off in their comparatively more humane and healthier offer.

From bench scale to kilolab production of renewable ferulic acid-based bisphenols: optimisation and evaluation of different purification approaches towards technical feasibility and process environmental sustainability

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 406-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. S. Teixeira ◽  
G. Willig ◽  
J. Couvreur ◽  
A. L. Flourat ◽  
A. A. M. Peru ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Ferulic Acid ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Technical Feasibility ◽  
Bench Scale

Scaling-up a process is not always trivial. Technical synthetic feasibility, yield and environmental impact must be assessed.

scholarly journals Population Backfire: Hindsight to Malthusian Catastrophe

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-126
Author(s):  
R Ramya ◽  
C C Babu ◽  
P Akshay
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Future Generation ◽  
Population Pressure ◽  
Basic Tenet ◽  
Sufficient Food Supply ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sufficient Food ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Malthusian Trap

The basic tenet of Economics lies in the scarcity principle and unlimited nature of human wants, but allocating a definite amount of resources to satisfy the growing per capita needs in an economy is a difficult task. Things become more complicated when the population pressure generates backfire. The global population has increased to 7.8 billion, and it is essential to ensure sufficient food supply for the growing human population as well as for other species without destroying ecological balance is a serious matter to consider. An evaluation of Malthusian population theories has great importance in this context. This paper intends to analyze the Malthusian theory of population and what happens if population backfire happens and also looks into the intensity of positive checks on population along with the Malthusian trap and its effect on the present as well as the future generation.

scholarly journals The effect of dihydroquercetin on the stability of consumer properties of chopped semi-finished meat

2021 ◽  
Vol 285 ◽  
pp. 05011
Author(s):  
N. N. Shagaeva ◽  
S. V. Kolobov ◽  
I. A. Zachesova
Keyword(s):  
Meat Products ◽  
Microbiological Quality ◽  
Negative Temperature ◽  
Acid Number ◽  
Oxidation Products ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Experimental Sample ◽  
Quality Stability ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
The Stability

The steadily increasing demand for semi-finished meat products is provided by the constantly expanding product range and improving its quality. In turn, quality stability is an important criterion for increasing sales. The article presents data on the effect of a natural antioxidant-dihydroquercetin on the stability of consumer properties of chopped semi-finished moose meat with the addition of beet fiber when stored at a negative temperature for 216 days. Dihydroquercetin was added in an amount of 0.05% by weight of the raw material. In the course of the work, generally accepted methods of studying organoleptic and microbiological quality indicators were used. The degree of oxidative deterioration of the product was checked by determining the acid, peroxide and thiobarbituric numbers. The conducted studies allowed us to conclude that the use of this food additive allows us to preserve the organoleptic and microbiological properties of the semi-finished product for a longer period by inhibiting the formation of oxidation products. The use of dihydroquercetin contributed to a decrease in the experimental sample of the semi-finished product on day 216 of the peroxide and acid number by 2 times, and the thiobarbituric number by 1.8 times in relation to the control. Thus, by reducing the oxidative damage of the semi-finished product, it is possible to influence its characteristics during storage.

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