TITLE:
Carbon, Water, Ecological Footprints, Energy and Nutritional Densities of Omnivore and Vegan Culinary Preparations
AUTHORS:
Thadia Turon Costa Da Silva, Bianca Biscacio Falco, Isis Gomes De Castro, Rita Barreira Zanon, Juliana Vidal Vieira Guerra, Karina Yuriko Yaginuma, Verônica Oliveira, Aline Gomes De Mello De Oliveira
KEYWORDS:
Food Services, Menu Planning, Environment, Carbon Footprint, Water Footprint
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.14 No.7,
July
24,
2023
ABSTRACT: This study aimed to evaluate energy and nutritional
densities, water, carbon and ecological footprints, cost, of omnivorous and
vegan main courses served in a university restaurant in the city of Rio de
Janeiro. A cross-sectional, analytical study was conducted with 40 main
dish-type preparations, 20 of which are omnivorous and 20 vegans, served at
lunch, to assess energy and nutritional densities, carbon, water and ecological
footprints and cost of preparations. We propose a healthy and sustainable
preparation index (HSPI) to evaluate from the list, the best preparation
options considering the nutritional quality combined with the impact that the
food causes on the environment. Preparations with the highest HSPI were
considered the best options because they have a good relation between the
nutritional profile and the environmental impact. Results: Regarding
energy (ED), nutritional (ND) densities and water, carbon and ecological
footprints, omnivorous preparations presented much higher values when compared
to the vegan ones. The omnivorous preparations had the highest average cost (R$
3.44). Regarding the HSPI, vegan preparations showed better rates than
omnivorous preparations. Food services should promote healthy and sustainable
choices by offering menus with low energy density preparations, high
nutritional density, and low environmental impact, considering local realities
and customer needs. Conclusion: This study was able to evaluate the best
preparation options, considering the nutritional profile and the food impact on
the environment, using health and sustainable indicators. Obtaining indicators
of preparations regarding healthiness and sustainability, in practice,
translates environmental aspects in menu planning, which contribute to changes
in food consumption patterns in food services, in addition to contributing to
the reduction of the environmental impact. In this way, they can be used as
tools added to the menu planning process for the analysis of the environmental
impact of menus, in addition to nutritional and qualitative aspects.