Multi-Objective Optimization of Nutritional, Environmental and Economic Aspects of Diets Applied to the Spanish Context.

Current food consumption patterns must be revised in order to improve their sustainability. The nutritional, environmental, and economic consequences of these dietary patterns must be taken into consideration when diet guidelines are proposed. This study applied a systematic optimization methodology to define sustainable dietary patterns complying with nutritional, environmental, and economic issues.

Optimization of the environmental performance of food diets in Peru combining linear programming and life cycle methods.

The improvement of diets from a nutritional and health perspective has been a critical policy objective in developing nations for the past few decades. However, the current stress that human populations are exerting on the planet has made it important to assess diets using environmental indicators, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, the main objective of the current study was to propose a methodology in which Life Cycle Assessment results linked to dietary patterns in Peru were combined with nutritional and economic data to optimize diets.

Environmental impacts of the life cycle of alluvial gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest.

Alluvial gold mining activities in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest are responsible for mercury emissions and deforestation. To understand related environmental impacts, specifically toxicity and climate change, this study uses Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Four predominant extraction systems were selected and modelled and three scenarios that reflect currently available gold recovery systems were modelled: amalgamation, amalgamation with mercury recovery through retort system and gravimetric tables.

Peru's road to climate action: Are we on the right path? The role of life cycle methods to improve Peruvian national contributions.

Most developing nations have had to perform a swift transition from the voluntary greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation actions engaged in the Copenhagen Accord, to the relatively ambitious mitigations signed in the frame of the Paris Agreement. Consequently, Peru is currently creating its national structure to combat climate change through mitigation and adaptation actions. Nationally-determined contributions (NDCs) are the planned interventions that nations report for intended reductions in GHG emissions.

Climate change mitigation opportunities based on carbon footprint estimates of dietary patterns in Peru.

Food consumption accounts for an important proportion of the world GHG emissions per capita. Previous studies have delved into the nature of dietary patterns, showing that GHG reductions can be achieved in diets if certain foods are consumed rather than other, more GHG intensive products. For instance, vegetarian and low-meat diets have proved to be less carbon intensive than diets that are based on ruminant meat.

Assessing the magnitude of potential environmental impacts related to water and toxicity in the Peruvian hyper-arid coast: A case study for the cultivation of grapes for pisco production.

The environmental sustainability of the cultivation of grapes for the production of alcoholic beverages has been extensively analyzed in the literature from a Life Cycle Assessment perspective, although certain impact categories have been repeatedly neglected despite their importance, such as toxic emissions or the depletion of freshwater resources. Hence, the current study provides a detailed assessment of water footprint-related impact categories, including toxicity, for the cultivation of grapes for pisco production, an alcoholic beverage produced in coastal Peru in hyper-arid areas that suffer high levels of water scarcity. Characterization factors at a sub-watershed level were used to calculate water consumption impact assessment of grape production using the AWARE method.