D.NRE. 2008 - Dietary pesticide footprint
| Project start date: | 31 May 2021 |
| Project end date: | 31 May 2021 |
| Publication date: | 03 October 2024 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Grain-fed Cattle, Grass-fed Cattle, Sheep, Goat, Lamb |
| Relevant regions: | National |
Summary
The purpose of this project is to extend the planetary boundaries to other environmental indicators that contribute to sustainable consumption in Australia. Previous research indicated developed planetary boundaries for freshwater, cropland and climate change and found that the Australian diet is currently within planetary boundaries for freshwater, marginally exceeding the cropland boundary and entirely exceeding the climate change planetary boundary. The findings suggest adoption of production and waste reduction strategies are necessary to shift the Australian diet within planetary boundaries since few foods currently available in the Australian diet are climate neutral (other than sheepmeat and rice) and no dietary pattern is within planetary boundaries for all three environmental indicators. Since food production impacts the environment in different ways, increasing the number of environmental indicators that define sustainable consumption is important for managing trade-offs. This project will add pesticide toxicity footprint, leveraging a recent piorneering high-resolution assessment of the pesticide impacts of agriculture in Australia (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021, 55, 1,290−1,300). The analysis will be undertaken within the context of the plantary boundary-based sustainability framework developed in MLA project D.NRE.2005. The findings will highlight the risk of environmental trade-offs resulting from substituting foods with higher climate change impacts for those with lower impacts.
Objectives
Compelling evidence to inform policy, including review of dietary guidelines.
More information
| Project manager: | Veronique Droulez |
| Contact email: | reports@mla.com.au |
