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Welfare and sustainability effects of dietary recommendations

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  • Irz, Xavier
  • Leroy, Pascal
  • Réquillart, Vincent
  • Soler, Louis-Georges

Abstract

The paper develops a framework combining a model of rational behaviour under dietary constraints, an epidemiological model of diet-related mortality, and a life-cycle-analysis model of environmental impact, which permits the ex-ante assessment of dietary recommendations in multiple sustainability dimensions (i.e., taste cost, welfare effect, deaths avoided, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and acidification). It is applied to compare in a French context the relative effects and efficiency of six popular sustainable diet recommendations. The results confirm the synergies between the health and environmental dimensions: healthy-eating recommendations usually have a positive effect on the environment, although some exceptions exist. Most of the sustainable diet recommendations appear highly cost-effective, but those most commonly promoted on health grounds (e.g., targeting consumption of salt, fruits and vegetables and saturated fat) rank highest in terms of overall efficiency. Moreover, the valuation of benefits indicates that in most cases health benefits are significantly larger than environmental benefits. Overall, the analysis reveals some under-investment in the promotion of sustainable diet recommendations in France. The general lack of enthusiasm in policy circles for informational measures promoting behavioural change may reflect unrealistic expectations about the speed and magnitude of dietary change rather than an objective assessment of the efficiency of those measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Irz, Xavier & Leroy, Pascal & Réquillart, Vincent & Soler, Louis-Georges, 2016. "Welfare and sustainability effects of dietary recommendations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 139-155.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:130:y:2016:i:c:p:139-155
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.06.025
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    2. Alban Thomas, 2020. "Is there a win-win scenario with both limited beef production and reduced beef consumption?," Working Papers hal-02790948, HAL.
    3. Irz, Xavier & Jensen, Jørgen Dejgaard & Leroy, Pascal & Réquillart, Vincent & Soler, Louis-Georges, 2017. "A Cross-Country Comparison of the Sustainability Effects of Dietary Recommendations," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 261114, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Dogbe, Wisdom & Gil, José M., 2018. "Effectiveness of a carbon tax to promote a climate-friendly food consumption," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 235-246.
    5. Tiboldo, Giulia & Boehm, Rebecca & Shah, Farhed & Moro, Daniele & Castellari, Elena, 2022. "Taxing the heat out of the U.S. food system," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    6. Cécile Détang-Dessendre & Hervé Guyomard & Vincent Réquillart & Louis-Georges Soler, 2020. "Changing Agricultural Systems and Food Diets to Prevent and Mitigate Global Health Shocks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-13, August.
    7. Requillart, V. & Irz, X. & Jensen, J. & Leroy, P. & Soler, L.-G., 2018. "Promoting Climate-Friendly Diets: What Should We Tell Consumers in Demark, Finland and France?," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277057, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Erica Doro & Vincent Réquillart, 2020. "Review of sustainable diets: are nutritional objectives and low-carbon-emission objectives compatible?," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 117-146, October.
    9. Thomas, Alban & Lamine, Claire & Allès, Benjamin & Chiffoleau, Yuna & Doré, Antoine & Dubuisson-Quellier, Sophie & Hannachi, Mourad, 2020. "The key roles of economic and social organization and producer and consumer behaviour towards a health-agriculture-food-environment nexus: recent advances and future prospects," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 101(1), August.
    10. Bonnet, Céline & Bouamra-Mechemache, Zohra & Réquillart, Vincent & Treich, Nicolas, 2020. "Viewpoint: Regulating meat consumption to improve health, the environment and animal welfare," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    11. Chalmers, N. & Revoredo-Giha, C., 2018. "Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption whilst incorporating consumer preferences," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277060, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Cesar Revoredo-Giha & Luiza Toma & Faical Akaichi & Ian Dawson, 2022. "Exploring the effects of increasing underutilized crops on consumers’ diets: the case of millet in Uganda," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-21, December.
    13. DOGBE, Wisdom & Gil, Jose M., 2017. "Environmental, Nutritional and Welfare Effects of Introducing a Carbon Tax on Food Products in Spain," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258132, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Bonnet, Céline & Bouamra-Mechemache, Zohra & Corre, Tifenn, 2016. "An environmental tax towards more sustainable food consumption: empirical evidence of the French meat and marine food consumption," TSE Working Papers 16-639, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    15. Doro, Erica & Réquillart, Vincent, 2018. "Sustainable diets: are nutritional objectives and low-carbon-emission objectives compatible?," TSE Working Papers 18-913, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    16. Thomas, Alban & Lamine, Claire & Allès, Benjamin & Chiffoleau, Yuna & Doré, Antoine & Dubuisson-Quellier, Sophie & Hannachi, Mourad, 2020. "The key roles of economic and social organization, producer and consumer behaviour towards a HAFEN (Health-Agriculture-Environment-Food Nexus)," TSE Working Papers 20-1068, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    17. Nadine Ghammachi & Putu Novi Arfirsta Dharmayani & Seema Mihrshahi & Rimante Ronto, 2022. "Investigating Web-Based Nutrition Education Interventions for Promoting Sustainable and Healthy Diets in Young Adults: A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-13, February.
    18. Bonnet, Céline & Bouamra-Mechemache, Zohra & Corre, Tifenn, 2018. "An Environmental Tax Towards More Sustainable Food: Empirical Evidence of the Consumption of Animal Products in France," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 48-61.
    19. Dogbe, Wisdom & Gil, Jose Maria, 2017. "Distributional Impacts of Green Taxes on Food Consumption in Catalonia," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 261416, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Castiglione, Concetta & Mazzocchi, Mario, 2019. "Ten years of five-a-day policy in the UK: Nutritional outcomes and environmental effects," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 185-194.
    21. Karina Ilona Hidas & Anna Visy & Judit Csonka & Ildikó Csilla Nyulas-Zeke & László Friedrich & Klára Pásztor-Huszár & Boglárka Alpár & Géza Hitka & József Felföldi & Orsolya Fehér & Attila Gere, 2020. "Development of a Novel Gluten-Free Egg Pie Product: Effects of Sensory Attributes and Storage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-16, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food choice; Rationing; Norms; Healthy; Nutrition; Cost–benefit;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics

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