Biofach 2019

••• 11 ••• Innovationen A diet high in fruit and vegetables is better for the planet than one high in animal products, study says. Photo: Dan Gold on Unsplash Better veggie than meat Organic food provides signicant environmental benets A major new study confirms that a diet high in fruit and vegetables is better for the planet than one high in animal products. The study also finds that organic food provides significant, additional climate benefits for plant-based diets, but not for di- ets with only moderate contribu- tion from plant products. Published in open access journal “Frontiers in Nutrition”, this is the first study to investigate the environmental impacts of both dietary patterns and farm produc- tion systems. It is also the first to investigate the environmental im- pact of organic food consumption using observed diets rather than models. Biodiversity loss Many organizations, including the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organi- zation, advocate the urgent adoption of more sustainable diets at a global level. Such diets include reduced consumption of animal products, which have a higher environmental impact than plant-based products. This is mainly due to the high energy requirements of livestock farm- ing as well as the very large contribution of livestock to greenhouse gas emis- sions. Intensive livestock production is also responsible for significant biodi- versity loss due to conversion of natural habitats to grass and feed crops. The method of food production may also influence sustainable diets. Organic agriculture is generally considered more environmentally friendly than other modern production techniques. Howev- er, while many studies have investigated environmentally sustainable diets, these have rarely considered both dietary choices and the production method of the foods consumed. “We wanted to provide a more compre- hensive picture of how different diets impact the environment,” says Louise Seconda from the French Agence De L’Environnement Et De La Maitrise De L’Energie and the Nutritional Epidemi- ology Research Unit one of the article’s authors. “In particular, it is of consider- able interest to consider the impacts of both plant-based foods and organic foods.” To do this, researchers obtained infor- mation on food intake and organic food consumption from more than 34,000 French adults. They used what’s called a ‘provegetarian’ score to determine preferences for plant-based or animal- based food products. The researchers also conducted production life cycle en- vironmental impact assessments at the farm level against three environmental indicators: greenhouse gas emissions, cumulative energy demand and land oc- cupation. “Combining consumption and farm production data we found that across the board, diet-relat- ed environmental impacts were reduced with a plant-based diet – particularly greenhouse gas emis- sions,” says Louise Seconda. “The consumption of organic food added even more environmental benefits for a plant-based diet. In contrast, consumption of organic food did not add significant bene- fits to diets with high contribution from animal products and only moderate contribution from plant products.” Further studies However the researchers caution that the environmental effects of produc- tion systems are not uniform and can be impacted by climate, soil types and farm management. “We didn’t look at other indicators such as pesticide use, leaching and soil quality which are relevant to the environmental impacts of productions systems,” says Louise Seconda. “Therefore future studies could also con- sider these as well as supply chain and distribution impacts of food production.” The authors also say it will be important to conduct further studies to confirm these results and to expand our under- standing of how the entire food produc- tion lifecycle impacts sustainability. The study is the first to investigate the environmental impacts of both dietary patterns and farm production systems. Photo: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash BioZeit : Ackerbau und Artenvielfalt Wie sich die Artenvielfalt in bran- denburgischen Ackerbaugebieten innerhalb von 25 Jahren verändert hat, untersuchen Forscher des Ju- lius Kühn-Instituts (JKI) und des Leibniz-Zentrums für Agrarland- schaftsforschung (ZALF) im Pro- jekt „BioZeit“. Das Projekt will neueste Erhebungs- und Analyse- methoden einsetzen, deren An- wendung gleichzeitig die Kompa- t i b i l i t ä t zu den f r ühe r en Methoden vor 25 Jahren für exak- te Datenanalysen gewährleistet. Diese Methoden wollen die Pro- jektpartner in enger Verbindung von ökologischen und landwirt- schaftlichen Punkt- und Raumin- formationen einsetzen. Ziel des gemeinsamen Forschungspro- jekts des JKI und der ZALF ist, Schlüsselfaktoren zur Verbesse- rung der Biodiversität abzuleiten sowie Empfehlungen für prioritä- re Maßnahmen für den Biodiversi- tätsschutz allgemein und insbe- sondere für den Insektenschutz in Ackerbaugebieten zu geben. Nachhaltig und stilvoll verpackt Unter dem Motto: „Sustainability and Design: Meeting Consumer Expectations for Food Packaging” präsentieren am 8. Mai 2019 inter- nationale Forscher und Unterneh- men aktuelle Forschungsergebnis- se zu Verbraucherbedürfnissen und -akzeptanz. Zudem stellen sie auf dem 12. Cofresco Forum Round Table im englischen Chip- ping Campden neue Verpackungs- materialien und -methoden zur Verbesserung der Haltbarkeit vor und laden zur Diskussion ein. Ab- gerundet werden die Vorträge durch einen praktischen Teil, der Einblick in die aktuelle For- schungsarbeit von Campden BRI gibt. Auch können die Teilnehmer den Einfluss von Design auf die Einfachheit der Handhabung selbst testen. Insbesondere kön- nen sie den Einfluss von Alter oder Krankheit auf Geschicklich- keit und Kraft ausprobieren, um eine persönliche Einschätzung der ergonomischen Herausforderun- gen zu gewinnen. Die abschlie- ßende Diskussionsrunde nimmt Konfliktbereiche in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeit und Design beim Verpacken verschiedener Lebens- mittel genauer unter die Lupe.