Frederic, M.K., Guo, X., Zhao, X. et al. (4 more authors) (2024) Evaluating the water footprint and nutritional quality of takeaway dishes for selected large cities in China. Science of the Total Environment, 911. 168632. ISSN 0048-9697
Abstract
The takeaway food and delivery market is developing rapidly in China, raising concerns about the impacts of takeaway dishes on both health and the environment. Here, we compare the environmental impact and nutritional performance of 32 popular takeaway dishes, which stem from the top 10 best-selling takeaway dishes in 10 large cities in China. We select water footprint and water scarcity footprint indicators to represent the environmental impact, and the Food Compass Score to measure nutritional quality. Our results show that 24 out of 32 takeaway dishes contains meat, which has a higher water footprint. The inhabitants of water stressed Chinese cities, mainly located in northern China, tend to favor meat dishes, resulting in a larger water scarcity footprint. The results also highlight the lower nutrition quality of the majority of takeaway dishes, with only three takeaway dishes meeting acceptable environmental and nutritional standards. Our study highlights the importance of analyzing dishes rather than individual foods, which can facilitate sustainable dietary choices for consumers.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an author produced version of an article published in Science of the Total Environment. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Takeaway dishes, Water footprint, Nutrition quality, Food compass score |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 20 Nov 2023 10:07 |
Last Modified: | 09 Dec 2024 15:15 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168632 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:205473 |
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