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Indicator Specification
Meat and dairy products have been found to have high environmental impacts, which are primarily related to their production, including indirect impacts through the production of feed (EEA, 2017a). A study conducted by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) into the impacts of consumption (Weidema et al., 2008) found that, on average, meat and dairy products contribute 24 % of the environmental impacts from total final consumption in the EU-27. Therefore a reduction in consumption of meat and dairy products and a shift to other sources of protein have the potential to reduce environmental impacts related to consumption, as long as they have lower environmental impacts. Further evidence is provided by the FAO (2006) and Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) (2011).
Some meat types have higher impact intensity than others; in general, a switch from bovine meat to chicken or pork will lead to reduced environmental impacts, although animal welfare issues also need to be considered. A similar meat and dairy consumption indicator can be found in PBL (2011).
Fish and seafood are also included in this indicator for two reasons: (1) fish and seafood is a dietary alternative to meat and dairy products; (2) the consumption of fish and seafood can also be linked to environmental impacts (e.g. overfishing).
This indicator shows consumption of protein from selected meat, dairy, fish and seafood products in the EU-28.
Figure 1 shows the development of per capita protein consumption from animal-based products, and sub-categories of meat, fish and seafood, eggs, and dairy products (excl. butter). Further sub-categories for meat are added. Data are indexed to the year 2000 (2000=100).
Figure 2 shows the change in consumption of protein from selected main categories of meat, dairy, fish and seafood between 2000 and the most recent data point.
The data were extracted from the FAO balance sheets. The indicator is defined as the supply of these products to the final consumer. This provides a figure for 'food', which represents the amount of each product that reaches the consumer. The amount of food actually eaten will be lower than the quantity shown in the food balance sheet because of wastage of edible food in households during storage, preparation and cooking, unused food leftovers and food fed to domestic animals and pets.
The indicator shows protein consumption from animal based products instead of consumption of these products in weight because weight-based numbers are dominated by milk due to its high water content. Using protein in the indicator is also recommended in the European Commission Staff Working Document on the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe (EC, 2011) for 'making food consumption healthier and more sustainable'.
This indicator is expressed in per capita consumption in kg, indexed to the base year, 2000 (Fig. 1), and in kg/capita per year (Fig. 2).
Encouraging more sustainable diets and tackling food waste has begun to appear on political agendas in recent years at both EU and national levels. The Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe includes an 'Addressing Food' theme in which it is noted that the average European citizen wastes 180 kg of food per year, much of which is food that is still suitable for consumption. The Roadmap notes that 'a combined effort by farmers, the food industry, retailers and consumers through […] sustainable food choices (in line with WHO recommendations on the amount of animal proteins, including meat and dairy products consumed per person) and reduced food waste can contribute to improving resource efficiency and food security at a global level'.
The Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe includes a milestone that 'by 2020, incentives to healthier and more sustainable food production and consumption will be widespread and will have driven a 20 % reduction in the food chain’s resource inputs. Disposal of edible food waste should have been halved in the EU'.
The EU’s Seventh Environmental Action Programme (7th EAP) has the follwing aim: 'To set a framework for action to improve resource efficiency aspects beyond greenhouse gas emissions and energy, targets for reducing the overall lifecycle environmental impact of consumption will be set, in particular in the food, housing and mobility sectors' and states that 'structural changes in production, technology and innovation, as well as consumption patterns and lifestyles have reduced the overall environmental impact of production and consumption' for these three sectors.
The international policy framework for sustainable consumption and production (SCP) was agreed at the United Nations Conference for Sustainable Development (Rio+20) with the adoption of the 10-year framework of programmes on SCP. The declaration 'The future we want' recognises the need to change unsustainable patterns of consumption and production and promote sustainable ones. With respect to food, due to the global nature of the document, the declaration focuses on food security and undernourishment rather than on sustainable diets, overeating or food waste. However, these issues are closely linked, given the global competition for resources to produce food. 'Sustainable consumption and production' and 'End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture' are two of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN in 2015.
No quantitative targets have been identified but the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe COM(2011) 571 contains a relevant milestone, and the EU's 7th Environment Action Programme calls for the reduction of the overall environmental impact on consumption including from food.
Figure 1: Raw data from the FAO’s Food Balance Sheets are indexed to 2000 for selected food groups. The Livestock and Fish Primary Equivalent dataset has been used. The element 'protein' in the dataset comprises the amounts of protein contained in the commodity in question, and of any commodities derived therefrom, that are not further pursued in the food balance sheet and that are available for human consumption during the reference period. The quantities of protein available for human consumption, as estimated in the food balance sheet, reflect only the quantities reaching the consumer. The amount of protein actually consumed may be lower than the quantity shown in the food balance sheet depending on the degree of losses of edible food and nutrients in the household, e.g. during storage, in preparation and cooking (which affect vitamins and minerals to a greater extent than they do calories, protein and fat), as plate waste, or quantities fed to domestic animals and pets, or thrown away. This supply for protein uses is assumed to be proxy 'consumption'. The per capita EU-28 consumption is indexed to 2000 by dividing 100 by the value for the base year (2000) and multiplying by the value for year X. The figures for fish and seafood are summed to form a single final category for fish and seafood rather than individual figures.
Figure 2: The FAO data on Commodity Balance Sheets are used to calculate the supply of protein in selected food products in kg/capita per year for two years; 2000 and the most recent data point in the FAO data set. The Livestock and Fish Primary Equivalent data set has been used. The element 'protein' in the FAO data set comprises the amounts of protein contained in the commodity in question and of any commodities derived therefrom that are not further pursued in the food balance sheet and that are available for human consumption during the reference period. The quantities of protein available for human consumption, as estimated in the food balance sheet, reflect only the quantities reaching the consumer. The amount of food actually consumed may be lower than the quantity shown in the food balance sheet depending on the degree of losses of edible food and nutrients in the household, e.g. during storage, in preparation and cooking (which affect vitamins and minerals to a greater extent than they do calories, protein and fat), as plate waste, or quantities fed to domestic animals and pets, or thrown away. This data set is used as the most useful available proxy for 'consumption'. This is carried out for the EU-28. The raw data are delivered in g/capita per day, which is then converted to kg/capita per year.
No gap filling was required.
No methodology references available.
No methodological uncertainty identified.
The accuracy of the FAO data set for consumption of different meat, dairy, fish and seafood products depends on the reliability of the underlying statistics on the utilisation of foods and the nutritional value of foods. Supply and utilisation quantities are most open to uncertainty because of a lack of accurate data on food stocks and food used for purposes other than human consumption, in particular. For a more detailed discussion on the quality of the data in the FAO food balance sheets, please see p.6 of the FAO Food Balance Sheets Handbook (http://www.fao.org/3/a-x9892e.pdf).
The FAO statistical database is used in preference to the Eurostat database. This is because the Eurostat data is based on FAO data and only shows calories but not protein supply.
The 'food (protein)' item from the FAO commodity balance sheets is used as a proxy for actual consumed food that describes a diet. The amount of protein actually eaten will be lower than the quantity shown in the food balance sheet due to wastage of edible food in households during storage, preparation and cooking, unused food leftovers and food fed to domestic animals and pets.
Work specified here requires to be completed within 1 year from now.
Work specified here will require more than 1 year (from now) to be completed.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/13.2-development-in-consumption-of-2 or scan the QR code.
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