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A life cycle assessment framework combining nutritional and environmental health impacts of diet: a case study on milk

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment volume 21, pages 734–746 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

While there has been considerable effort to understand the environmental impact of a food or diet, nutritional effects are not usually included in food-related life cycle assessment (LCA).

Methods

We developed a novel Combined Nutritional and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (CONE-LCA) framework that evaluates and compares in parallel the environmental and nutritional effects of foods or diets. We applied this framework to assess human health impacts, expressed in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), in a proof-of-concept case study that investigated the environmental and nutritional human health effects associated with the addition of one serving of fluid milk to the present average adult US diet. Epidemiology-based nutritional impacts and benefits linked to milk intake, such as colorectal cancer, stroke, and prostate cancer, were compared to selected environmental impacts traditionally considered in LCA (global warming and particulate matter) carried to a human health endpoint.

Results and discussion

Considering potential human health effects related to global warming, particulate matter, and nutrition, within the context of this study, findings suggest that adding one serving of milk to the current average diet could result in a health benefit for American adults, assuming that existing foods associated with substantial health benefits are not substituted, such as fruits and vegetables. The net health benefit is further increased when considering an iso-caloric substitution of less healthy foods (sugar-sweetened beverages). Further studies are needed to test whether this conclusion holds within a more comprehensive assessment of environmental and nutritional health impacts.

Conclusions

This case study provides the first quantitative epidemiology-based estimate of the complements and trade-offs between nutrition and environment human health burden expressed in DALYs, pioneering the infancy of a new approach in LCA. We recommend further testing of this CONE-LCA approach for other food items and diets, especially when making recommendations about sustainable diets and food choices.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by an unrestricted grant of the Dairy Research Institute (DRI), part of Dairy Management Inc. (DMI). We thank Dr. Dominik Alexander for his support in interpreting the nutritional meta-analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2029, USA

    Katerina S. Stylianou, Alexi S. Ernstoff & Olivier Jolliet

  2. Center for Sustainable Systems, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1041, USA

    Martin C. Heller & Gregory A. Keoleian

  3. Nutrition Impact, LLC, 9725 D Drive North, Battle Creek, MI, 49014, USA

    Victor L. Fulgoni III

  4. Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet 426, 2800 Kgs., Lyngby, Denmark

    Alexi S. Ernstoff

Authors
  1. Katerina S. Stylianou
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  2. Martin C. Heller
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  3. Victor L. Fulgoni III
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  4. Alexi S. Ernstoff
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  5. Gregory A. Keoleian
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  6. Olivier Jolliet
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katerina S. Stylianou.

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Responsible editor: Niels Jungbluth

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Stylianou, K.S., Heller, M.C., Fulgoni, V.L. et al. A life cycle assessment framework combining nutritional and environmental health impacts of diet: a case study on milk. Int J Life Cycle Assess 21, 734–746 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-015-0961-0

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