Circularity in animal production requires a change in the EAT-Lancet diet in Europe

It is not known whether dietary guidelines proposing a limited intake of animal protein are compatible with the adoption of circular food systems. Using a resource-allocation model, we compared the effects of circularity on the supply of animal-source nutrients in Europe with the nutritional requirements of the EAT-Lancet reference diet. We found the two to be compatible in terms of total animal-source proteins but not specific animal-source foods; in particular, the EAT-Lancet guidelines recommend larger quantities of poultry meat over beef and pork, while a circular food system produces mainly milk, dairy-beef and pork. Compared with the EAT-Lancet reference diet, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by up to 31% and arable land use reduced by up to 42%. Careful consideration of the feasible substitutability between animal-source foods is needed to define potential roles of animal products in circular human diets.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Van Selm, Benjamin, Frehner, Anita, De Boer, Imke J.M., Van Hal, Ollie, Hijbeek, Renske, Van Ittersum, Martin K., Talsma, Elise F., Lesschen, Jan Peter, Hendriks, Chantal M.J., Herrero, Mario, Van Zanten, Hannah H.E.
Format:	Article/Letter to editor biblioteca
Language:	English
Subjects:	Life Science,
Online Access:	https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/circularity-in-animal-production-requires-a-change-in-the-eat-lan
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