How does food shopping impact the planet? Eco labels on the horizon, say researchers

09 Aug 2022 --- Consumers could soon be able to check the environmental impact of food before purchasing, thanks to new research from Oxford University, UK. Reliable information of this kind hasn’t yet been available, and researchers believe that an eco-labeling system could be the answer to the future of food.

Scientists have discovered a way to use public databases to estimate the composition of thousands of food products and their environmental impact. In the findings, researchers have warned that meat and dairy products would be the products that scored highest in supermarkets. 

Professor Peter Scarborough from Oxford University says he hopes the research will “lead to an eco-labeling system for customers, but he believes that the bigger impact would come if the food industry uses it to cut its environmental footprint.”

He said the food industry has also been crying out for this kind of tool and that some manufacturers and caterers are already using the algorithm to make their meals more sustainable.

“It fills a huge gap,” he explains. “Manufacturers, caterers and retailers have targets for reaching net zero emissions, and they don’t have the tools they need to get there.”

Foods containing more meat and dairy would score much higher than those with more plant-based ingredients.“Now they have this data, and some are talking to us about things they can do to help people move toward more sustainable food purchasing. The data could help manufacturers adjust their formulations.”

“A significant step in labeling”
However, the analysis has limits. Ingredient lists don’t tend to show sourcing information such as country of origin or agricultural production method. 

Dr. Mike Clark, who led the research, calls the tool “a significant step toward providing information that could enable informed decision-making.”

The Oxford team estimated the composition of 57,000 foods and beverages in supermarkets in the UK and Ireland. It then assessed the impact of growing methods, processing and transport against key environmental measures, including greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on nature.

The team developed an algorithm to calculate an eco-score for the environmental impact of individual food and beverage products.

Meat and dairy score high
Under the algorithm, the higher the score, the higher the environmental impact. As expected, foods containing more meat and dairy score much higher than those with more plant-based ingredients. 

By contrast, many meat alternatives, such as plant-based sausages or burgers, had between a fifth and less than a tenth of the environmental impact of meat-based equivalents.

But there was also wide variation within specific categories.

For example, the highest-impact pork sausage scored about a third higher than the least impactful. And the impact of biscuits rose the more chocolate they contained, showing that small recipe changes could make significant differences, according to the researchers. 

“If you look at the government strategy on achieving net zero emissions by 2050 around food systems, they are not measuring the actual greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, the recommendation is to reduce meat consumption,” explains Scarborough. 

Notably, foods with lower environmental impacts are gaining traction in the industry. This ties in with Innova Market Insights’ top trend for 2022, caring for a “Shared Planet.”

Related innovations to decrease the carbon footprint led FoodIngredientsFirst to spotlight carbon-neutral beers. 

Edited by Elizabeth Green