With over a third of global greenhouse gas emissions coming from food production, we know the powerful impact the food industry has on the sustainability of the planet, in additional to the health of the population. However, estimating the environmental impact diets can have as well as the nutritional impact has been 2 separate concepts, requiring different databases and computer programmes – until now!
We’re excited to announce that the core UK myfood24 food and nutrient dataset now includes measures of sustainability. Researchers, lecturers and students can now analyse the environmental impact of diets in addition to the nutritional composition!
Key features of measuring sustainability with myfood24
- 3 measures of dietary sustainability are calculated: land use, water use and greenhouse gas emissions – the only software to capture all 3 aspects of sustainability
- Gives a more complete picture of the environmental impact
- Measures have been tailored to the UK using robust methods
- Applies to all food and drink products in the core UK nutrient dataset
- Automatically calculated and applied to myfood24 data extracts – no additional steps to complete for the end-user, or you!
What does the sustainability database measure?
Going a step further than other systems available, myfood24 can now measure 3 marks of sustainability: freshwater use and land use in addition to greenhouse gas emissions. Having all 3 measures, rather than just greenhouse gas emissions, will provide users with a more complete picture of the environmental impact foods and dietary patterns can have on the planet. For more information on what these metrics are and why they’re important, check out our guest blog article by Dr Vicki Jenseson: Food sustainability: what does it mean and how is it measured?
This database enhancement will enable researchers and lecturers to better understand and demonstrate the true impact diets can have on the health of the planet. Diaries are self-completed by end users and myfood24 automatically calculates the 3 measures of sustainability in addition to an in-depth analysis of over 100 nutrients, vitamins and minerals – no additional steps are required from the end-users.
HOW HAS THE MYFOOD24 SUSTAINABILITY DATABASE BEEN CREATED?
In the same way that all of our datasets have been created, our sustainability database has been created with robust methodologies and in collaboration with experts in the field, in this case, the University of Leeds. Originally using the Poore and Nemecek database – the industry standard – Maria Galazoula (University of Leeds) adapted this to be specific to the UK using FAO trade statistics.
We then used our unique mapping process to apply these data to our comprehensive food and nutrient database of over 100,000 branded and generic McCance and Widdowson items – including composite dishes, resulting in every food and drink item* having 3 estimates of sustainability for water use, land use and greenhouse gas emissions. myfood24 is the first dietary analysis software to assess 3 measures of food sustainability!
Here’s what Post-graduate Researcher, Maria Galazoula, had to say…
“It’s been fantastic to work with the myfood24 team on this database, I’m really proud of what’s been achieved. I think this will help researchers, academics and the public understand the true extent of food sustainability across multiple measures.”
INTERESTED IN MEASURING SUSTAINABLE DIETS WITH MYFOOD24?
Try a free demo of the myfood24 diary to see how quick and easy diary completion is and get feedback on the nutritional composition of your diet as well as measures of sustainability.
Or get in touch with a member of our team to start using the number one dietary analysis software today.
*Please note the myfood24 sustainability measures are currently available for UK research and education customers using our core dataset only.