Sustainability and dietary change: the implications of Swedish food consumption patterns 1960-2006

摘要

This article focuses on the changing food consumption pattern in Sweden between 1960 and 2006, and the implications of those changes for sustainability. National statistical data on the consumption of different food groups such as meat, milk, dairy products, eggs, fruit, vegetables, cereal, potatoes and sugar were compared. Overall, an increase in the consumption of meat, cheese, cream, fruit and vegetables was observed, while the consumption of milk, butter and potatoes decreased. For the sustainability assessment, three parameters were chosen: land requirement, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use. It was shown that the Swedish diet in 2006 required more resources and produced more GHG emissions than in 1960, mainly due to the increase in the consumption of animal products.