IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v7y2015i9p12837-12855d55999.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Combining Low Price, Low Climate Impact and High Nutritional Value in One Shopping Basket through Diet Optimization by Linear Programming

Author

Listed:
  • Corné Van Dooren

    (Netherlands Nutrition Centre (Voedingscentrum), Eisenhowerlaan 108, 2508 CK The Hague, The Netherlands
    Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University, Boelelaan 1087, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Marcelo Tyszler

    (Blonk Consultants, Gravin Beatrixstraat 34, 2805 PJ Gouda, The Netherlands)

  • Gerard F. H. Kramer

    (Blonk Consultants, Gravin Beatrixstraat 34, 2805 PJ Gouda, The Netherlands)

  • Harry Aiking

    (Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University, Boelelaan 1087, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Background: This study aims to find diets with low price and low climate impact, yet fulfilling all nutritional requirements. Methods: Optimization by linear programming. The program constrains 33 nutrients to fulfill Dutch dietary requirements. In a second cycle, the upper boundary for climate impact through greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) is set to 1.6 kg carbon dioxide equivalents/day (CO 2 eq). In a third cycle, the costs are set on €2.50 as a constraint. The objective function of the optimization maximized the most consumed food products ( n = 206) for male and female adults separately (age 31–50). Results: A diet of 63 popular and low priced basic products was found to deliver all required nutrients at an adequate level for both male and female adults. This plant-based, carbohydrate and fiber-rich diet consists mainly of wholegrain bread, potatoes, muesli, open-field vegetables and fruits. The climate impact of this diet is very low (1.59 kg CO 2 eq/day) compared to the average Dutch diet. By constraining costs, a low carbon diet of €2.59/day is possible. Conclusions: A two-person diet consisting of 63 products and costing €37 per week can simultaneously be healthy and yet have half the average climate impact. Linear programming is a promising tool to combine health and sustainability on both societal and individual levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Corné Van Dooren & Marcelo Tyszler & Gerard F. H. Kramer & Harry Aiking, 2015. "Combining Low Price, Low Climate Impact and High Nutritional Value in One Shopping Basket through Diet Optimization by Linear Programming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-19, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:9:p:12837-12855:d:55999
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/9/12837/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/9/12837/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. de Boer, Joop & Helms, Martine & Aiking, Harry, 2006. "Protein consumption and sustainability: Diet diversity in EU-15," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 267-274, September.
    2. Garnett, Tara, 2011. "Where are the best opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food system (including the food chain)?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(S1), pages 23-32.
    3. Vringer, Kees & Benders, René & Wilting, Harry & Brink, Corjan & Drissen, Eric & Nijdam, Durk & Hoogervorst, Nico, 2010. "A hybrid multi-region method (HMR) for assessing the environmental impact of private consumption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 2510-2516, October.
    4. Florent Vieux & Nicole N. Darmon & Djilali Touazi & Louis Georges Soler, 2012. "Greenhouse gas emissions of self-selected individual diets in France: Changing the Q23 diet structure or consuming less?," Post-Print hal-02649979, HAL.
    5. George B. Dantzig, 1990. "The Diet Problem," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 43-47, August.
    6. Victor E. Smith, 1959. "Linear Programming Models for the Determination of Palatable Human Diets," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 41(2), pages 272-283.
    7. van Dooren, C. & Marinussen, Mari & Blonk, Hans & Aiking, Harry & Vellinga, Pier, 2014. "Exploring dietary guidelines based on ecological and nutritional values: A comparison of six dietary patterns," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 36-46.
    8. Garnett, Tara, 2011. "Where are the best opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food system (including the food chain)?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 23-32, January.
    9. Vieux, F. & Darmon, N. & Touazi, D. & Soler, L.G., 2012. "Greenhouse gas emissions of self-selected individual diets in France: Changing the diet structure or consuming less?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 91-101.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Menale Kassie & Zewdu Abro & Tesfamicheal Wossen & Samuel T. Ledermann & Gracious Diiro & Shifa Ballo & Lulseged Belayhun, 2020. "Integrated Health Interventions for Improved Livelihoods: A Case Study in Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Louise Seconda & Julia Baudry & Benjamin Allès & Christine Boizot-Szantai & Louis-Georges Soler & Pilar Galan & Serge Hercberg & Brigitte Langevin & Denis Lairon & Philippe Pointereau & Emmanuelle Kes, 2018. "Comparing nutritional, economic, and environmental performances of diets according to their levels of greenhouse gas emissions," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 155-172, May.
    3. Christine Cleghorn & Nhung Nghiem & Cliona Ni Mhurchu, 2022. "Assessing the Health and Environmental Benefits of a New Zealand Diet Optimised for Health and Climate Protection," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-13, October.
    4. Rahmatollah Beheshti & Jessica C Jones-Smith & Takeru Igusa, 2017. "Taking dietary habits into account: A computational method for modeling food choices that goes beyond price," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-13, May.
    5. Xiaoke Yang & Zhihang Zhang & Huangyixin Chen & Rongrong Zhao & Zhongyue Xu & Anguo Xie & Qiuhua Chen, 2019. "Assessing the Carbon Emission Driven by the Consumption of Carbohydrate-Rich Foods: The Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, March.
    6. Lamis Jomaa & Lara Nasreddine & Farah Naja & Lara Chehade & Nahla Hwalla, 2021. "Sustainable, Healthy and Affordable Diets for Children in Lebanon: A Call for Action in Dire Times," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-18, November.
    7. Koenen, Melissa & Balvert, Marleen & Fleuren, H.A., 2023. "A Renewed Take on Weighted Sum in Sandwich Algorithms : Modification of the Criterion Space," Other publications TiSEM 795b6c0c-c7bc-4ced-9d6b-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    8. van Dooren, C. & Keuchenius, C. & de Vries, J.H.M. & de Boer, J. & Aiking, H., 2018. "Unsustainable dietary habits of specific subgroups require dedicated transition strategies: Evidence from the Netherlands," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 44-57.
    9. Koenen, Melissa & Balvert, Marleen & Fleuren, H.A., 2023. "A Renewed Take on Weighted Sum in Sandwich Algorithms : Modification of the Criterion Space," Discussion Paper 2023-012, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. van Dooren, Corné & Douma, Annely & Aiking, Harry & Vellinga, Pier, 2017. "Proposing a Novel Index Reflecting Both Climate Impact and Nutritional Impact of Food Products," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 389-398.
    2. Xiaoke Yang & Zhihang Zhang & Huangyixin Chen & Rongrong Zhao & Zhongyue Xu & Anguo Xie & Qiuhua Chen, 2019. "Assessing the Carbon Emission Driven by the Consumption of Carbohydrate-Rich Foods: The Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, March.
    3. 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, INRA Department of Economics, vol. 101(1), pages 117-146.
    4. van Dooren, C. & Keuchenius, C. & de Vries, J.H.M. & de Boer, J. & Aiking, H., 2018. "Unsustainable dietary habits of specific subgroups require dedicated transition strategies: Evidence from the Netherlands," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 44-57.
    5. 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).
    6. Morena Bruno & Marianne Thomsen & Federico Maria Pulselli & Nicoletta Patrizi & Michele Marini & Dario Caro, 2019. "The carbon footprint of Danish diets," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 156(4), pages 489-507, October.
    7. Valeria De Laurentiis & Dexter V.L. Hunt & Christopher D.F. Rogers, 2016. "Overcoming Food Security Challenges within an Energy/Water/Food Nexus (EWFN) Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-23, January.
    8. van Dooren, C. & Marinussen, Mari & Blonk, Hans & Aiking, Harry & Vellinga, Pier, 2014. "Exploring dietary guidelines based on ecological and nutritional values: A comparison of six dietary patterns," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 36-46.
    9. Peter Scarborough & Paul Appleby & Anja Mizdrak & Adam Briggs & Ruth Travis & Kathryn Bradbury & Timothy Key, 2014. "Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 179-192, July.
    10. Reynolds, Christian John & Piantadosi, Julia & Buckley, Jonathan David & Weinstein, Philip & Boland, John, 2015. "Evaluation of the environmental impact of weekly food consumption in different socio-economic households in Australia using environmentally extended input–output analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 58-64.
    11. Ariane Kehlbacher & Richard Tiffin & Adam Briggs & Mike Berners-Lee & Peter Scarborough, 2016. "The distributional and nutritional impacts and mitigation potential of emission-based food taxes in the UK," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 121-141, July.
    12. Johanna Ruett & Lena Hennes & Jens Teubler & Boris Braun, 2022. "How Compatible Are Western European Dietary Patterns to Climate Targets? Accounting for Uncertainty of Life Cycle Assessments by Applying a Probabilistic Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-21, November.
    13. Michael Martin & Miguel Brandão, 2017. "Evaluating the Environmental Consequences of Swedish Food Consumption and Dietary Choices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-21, December.
    14. Röös, Elin & Patel, Mikaela & Spångberg, Johanna & Carlsson, Georg & Rydhmer, Lotta, 2016. "Limiting livestock production to pasture and by-products in a search for sustainable diets," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-13.
    15. Rosemary Green & James Milner & Alan Dangour & Andy Haines & Zaid Chalabi & Anil Markandya & Joseph Spadaro & Paul Wilkinson, 2015. "The potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the UK through healthy and realistic dietary change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 129(1), pages 253-265, March.
    16. Mirjam E. Van de Kamp & Elisabeth H. M. Temme, 2018. "Plant-Based Lunch at Work: Effects on Nutrient Intake, Environmental Impact and Tastiness—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, January.
    17. Oriana Gava & Fabio Bartolini & Francesca Venturi & Gianluca Brunori & Angela Zinnai & Alberto Pardossi, 2018. "A Reflection of the Use of the Life Cycle Assessment Tool for Agri-Food Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.
    18. Vivian G. M. Quam & Joacim Rocklöv & Mikkel B. M. Quam & Rebekah A. I. Lucas, 2017. "Assessing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Health Co-Benefits: A Structured Review of Lifestyle-Related Climate Change Mitigation Strategies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-19, April.
    19. Louise Seconda & Julia Baudry & Benjamin Allès & Christine Boizot-Szantai & Louis-Georges Soler & Pilar Galan & Serge Hercberg & Brigitte Langevin & Denis Lairon & Philippe Pointereau & Emmanuelle Kes, 2018. "Comparing nutritional, economic, and environmental performances of diets according to their levels of greenhouse gas emissions," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 155-172, May.
    20. Anna Kustar & Dalia Patino-Echeverri, 2021. "A Review of Environmental Life Cycle Assessments of Diets: Plant-Based Solutions Are Truly Sustainable, even in the Form of Fast Foods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-22, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:9:p:12837-12855:d:55999. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.