Supermarket shoppers could soon be checking the
environmental impact of food before putting it in their trolleys, thanks to new
research.
Reliable information of
this kind hasn't been available.
That's because UK
manufacturers only have to list their main ingredients, and that's by
percentage, not amount.
Scientists have overcome
the problem by using public databases to estimate the composition of thousands
of food products and their impact.
Many consumers want to
know how their weekly food shop affects the planet, even though rising prices
will likely be a more immediate concern for most.
Prof Peter Scarborough
from Oxford University told BBC News he hopes that the research leads to an
eco-labelling system for customers, but he believes that the bigger impact
would come if the food industry uses it to cut its environmental footprint.
He said the food
industry has also been "crying out" for the new tool and that the
algorithm is already being used by some manufacturers and caterers to make
their meals more sustainable.
"It fills a huge
gap. Manufacturers, caterers and retailers have targets for reaching net zero
[emissions] and they don't have the tools they need to get there."
"Now they have this
data, and some of them are talking to us about things they can do to help
people move towards more sustainable food purchasing. The data could help
manufacturers adjust their formulations."
The analysis has limits. Ingredient lists don't tend to show sourcing
information such as country of origin or agricultural production method. But Dr
Mike Clark, who led the research at Oxford University, called the tool "a
significant step towards providing information that could enable informed
decision-making".
The Oxford team
estimated the composition of 57,000 foods and drinks in supermarkets in the UK
and Ireland. It then assessed the impact of growing methods, processing and
transport, against key environmental measures including greenhouse gas
emissions and impacts on nature.
The team developed an
algorithm to calculate an eco-score for the environmental impact of individual
food and drink products.
Catering firm Compass
Group began working with the researchers in January.
Its Culinary Director
for Business and Industry Ryan Holmes, told BBC News that use of the algorithm
"made us think about how we approach sustainability within the
workplace" as the company sought to achieve net zero emissions by 2030.
He said the company took
out some meat, increased proteins from other sources such as lentils and used
more whole grains and vegetables and obtained a better score for many of its
meal options for staff canteens.
Meat and dairy score high
Under the algorithm, the higher the score,
the higher the environmental impact. As expected, foods containing more meat
and dairy score much higher than those with more plant-based ingredients. By
contrast, many meat alternatives such as plant-based sausages or burgers, had
between a fifth and less than a tenth of the environmental impact of meat-based
equivalents.
But there was also wide
variation within specific categories.
For example, the
highest-impact pork sausage scored about a third higher than the least
impactful. And the impact of biscuits rose the more chocolate they contained,
showing that small recipe changes could make big differences, according to Prof
Scarborough.
"If you look at the
government strategy on achieving net zero [emissions by 2050] around food
systems, they are not measuring the actual greenhouse gas emissions, instead
the recommendation is to reduce meat consumption.
"That's OK, because
meat has the biggest greenhouse gas emissions, but you miss a massive amount in
multi-ingredient foods which had previously had no reduction targets based on
them whatsoever."
COOK, a Kent-based frozen food producer looking to diversify away from meat,
has also worked with the researchers. It wants to explore whether measures like
putting eco-labels on its products would help customers embrace a more
sustainable diet.
"The tool could
help us by ensuring that as we are developing new recipes there is a delicious
option for someone who is actively looking to reduce their environmental impact
through what they eat," said Andy Stephens, COOK's head of sustainable
food.
The researchers don't
foresee eco-labelling becoming compulsory in the near future. They want firms
to adopt it voluntarily, something they believe would lead them to compete over
the sustainability of their food and drink products.
A spokesperson for the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs welcomed the initiative.
"We want to give
everyone the information to make healthier, greener or more sustainable choices
with the food they buy, if they want to. Voluntary industry schemes are really
positive and through our Food Strategy we're also looking at how we can better
support them in future."
The research has been
published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Soucr: BBC