The paper "Healthy diets can create environmental trade-offs, depending on how diet quality is measured," by Zach Conrad, Nicole Tichenor Blackstone, and Eric D. Roy, explores the relationship between diet quality and environmental sustainability. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005–2016) and the U.S. Foodprint Model, the study assesses how different diet quality measures (HEI-2015 and AHEI-2010) affect agricultural resource use, food waste, and retail losses. The findings show that higher diet quality is linked to greater Total Food Demand and food waste, but lower use of agricultural land. The study emphasizes that how diet quality is measured influences its environmental impact, highlighting the need for sustainable dietary guidelines that balance nutrition and environmental considerations.
Source: Canva