Mediterranean diet has low carbon footprint: study

Everyone talks about the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, and as sustainability becomes more and more of a concern, a new study delved into the carbon footprint of the Med diet and found it relatively low.

In the study, the Spanish research team analyzed the carbon footprints of daily menus based on a diet they describe as being the rough equivalent to the Med diet.

They compared them with the daily menus of diets consumed in the U.S. and the U.K.

Over the course of one year, the research team analyzed a total of 448 lunches and 448 dinners, all of which were based on a 2,000 calorie-per-day diet.

"These menus could have equally been served in any school, restaurant or Spanish household," says lead author Rosario Vidal, a researcher in the Mechanical Engineering and Construction department at the Valencian institution SINC. "The recipes analysed include typical dishes such as Andalusian gazpacho soup, vegetable pisto manchego, paella or the stew-like puchero."

On average, the daily carbon footprint was 5.08 kilograms of carbon equivalent (CO2e), according to the study.

Diets in the two English-speaking countries, however, presented a carbon footprint considerably higher, of between 8.5 kg and 8.8 kg of CO2e in the U.S. and an estimated 7.4 kg of CO2e in the U.K.

The research team also analyzed the Med diet against 17 other therapeutic diets including soft, liquid and both low- and high-protein diets.

"The differences between the average value of the Mediterranean diet and that of English-speaking countries is due to much less beef being eaten in Spain (a food item with a larger carbon footprint) and more vegetables and fruit being eaten, which have a lower carbon footprints," says Vidal.

"Therefore, it is not only healthier, but our diet is also more ecological."

Vidal's study comes on the heels of revisions by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee in which they recommend cutting back on lean meat not for health purposes but for sustainability.

It's a move that's thought to be the first to base dietary advice on ecological preservation rather than human health, yet it could be an important strategy for protecting the environment, Vidal reminds us.

"Climate change is an international priority that must be tackled from all angles, one being the family environment and consideration of our daily diet," he says.

A carbon footprint expresses the amount of carbon dioxide you are contributing to global warming when you engage in activities such as driving, using electricity and home heating, or eating meat, the raising and butchering of which has left a negative impact on the environment.