International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences

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Reducing Water and Energy Footprints via Dietary Changes among Consumers

Received: 25 July 2014    Accepted: 09 August 2014    Published: 20 August 2014
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Abstract

An increasing global demand for food is occurring at the same time that water shortages and energy restrictions are escalating in many parts of the world. Much of the attention thus far has focused on supply side factors that can produce more food with fewer resources. Consumers, whose personal water footprints are dominated by food-related activities that have both direct and indirect energy requirements, control the demand side factors for food. Whereas conserving water and energy has been a sufficient incentive for a limited number of consumers to change their food habits, there is an increasing array of nutritional, financial, health and safety reasons why a larger number of consumers may be willing to modify their diets. These reasons range from avoiding pathogens and synthetic chemicals to increasing life expectancy and saving money on groceries. From the perspective of conserving water and energy resources, reducing the consumption of certain animal products, increasing the consumption plant-based foods, changing the ways that foods are perceived and accessed, and selecting foods that are produced with fewer potential water pollutants are among the most relevant. The projected influence of dietary changes on water and energy savings are restricted to industrialized nations, with considerable attention given to the current situation in California, where a severe drought in an agriculturally productive region has highlighted the interactions among water, energy and food.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140305.11
Published in International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences (Volume 3, Issue 5, September 2014)
Page(s) 361-369
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Diet, Footprints, Water, Energy, Efficiency, Foods

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  • Water Sciences & Insights, Encinitas, California, USA 92023

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    D. L. Marrin. (2014). Reducing Water and Energy Footprints via Dietary Changes among Consumers. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 3(5), 361-369. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140305.11

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    D. L. Marrin. Reducing Water and Energy Footprints via Dietary Changes among Consumers. Int. J. Nutr. Food Sci. 2014, 3(5), 361-369. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140305.11

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    D. L. Marrin. Reducing Water and Energy Footprints via Dietary Changes among Consumers. Int J Nutr Food Sci. 2014;3(5):361-369. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140305.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140305.11,
      author = {D. L. Marrin},
      title = {Reducing Water and Energy Footprints via Dietary Changes among Consumers},
      journal = {International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences},
      volume = {3},
      number = {5},
      pages = {361-369},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140305.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140305.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20140305.11},
      abstract = {An increasing global demand for food is occurring at the same time that water shortages and energy restrictions are escalating in many parts of the world. Much of the attention thus far has focused on supply side factors that can produce more food with fewer resources. Consumers, whose personal water footprints are dominated by food-related activities that have both direct and indirect energy requirements, control the demand side factors for food. Whereas conserving water and energy has been a sufficient incentive for a limited number of consumers to change their food habits, there is an increasing array of nutritional, financial, health and safety reasons why a larger number of consumers may be willing to modify their diets. These reasons range from avoiding pathogens and synthetic chemicals to increasing life expectancy and saving money on groceries. From the perspective of conserving water and energy resources, reducing the consumption of certain animal products, increasing the consumption plant-based foods, changing the ways that foods are perceived and accessed, and selecting foods that are produced with fewer potential water pollutants are among the most relevant. The projected influence of dietary changes on water and energy savings are restricted to industrialized nations, with considerable attention given to the current situation in California, where a severe drought in an agriculturally productive region has highlighted the interactions among water, energy and food.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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    AB  - An increasing global demand for food is occurring at the same time that water shortages and energy restrictions are escalating in many parts of the world. Much of the attention thus far has focused on supply side factors that can produce more food with fewer resources. Consumers, whose personal water footprints are dominated by food-related activities that have both direct and indirect energy requirements, control the demand side factors for food. Whereas conserving water and energy has been a sufficient incentive for a limited number of consumers to change their food habits, there is an increasing array of nutritional, financial, health and safety reasons why a larger number of consumers may be willing to modify their diets. These reasons range from avoiding pathogens and synthetic chemicals to increasing life expectancy and saving money on groceries. From the perspective of conserving water and energy resources, reducing the consumption of certain animal products, increasing the consumption plant-based foods, changing the ways that foods are perceived and accessed, and selecting foods that are produced with fewer potential water pollutants are among the most relevant. The projected influence of dietary changes on water and energy savings are restricted to industrialized nations, with considerable attention given to the current situation in California, where a severe drought in an agriculturally productive region has highlighted the interactions among water, energy and food.
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