An assessment of the water use associated with Australian diets using a planetary boundary framework

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dc.contributor.authorRidoutt, Bradley G.
dc.contributor.authorBaird, Danielle
dc.contributor.authorAnastasiou, Kim
dc.contributor.authorHendrie, Gilly A.
dc.date.accessioned2022-06-20T07:12:42Z
dc.date.available2022-06-20T07:12:42Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractObjective: Agriculture accounts for around 70 % of global freshwater withdrawals. As such, the food system has been identified as a critical intervention point to address water scarcity. Various studies have identified dietary patterns that contribute less to water scarcity. However, it is unclear what level of reduction is necessary to be considered sustainable. The pursuit of unnecessarily aggressive reductions could limit dietary diversity. Our objective was to assess the sustainability of water use supporting Australian dietary habits and the adequacy of current dietary guidelines. Design: Dietary intake data were obtained from the National Nutrition and Physical Activity component of the Australian Health Survey. For each individual daily diet, the water scarcity footprint was quantified, following ISO14046:2014, as well as a diet quality score. Water scarcity footprint results were compared with the planetary boundary for freshwater use downscaled to the level of an individual diet. Setting: Australia. Participants: 9341 adults participating in the Australian Health Survey. Results: Dietary water scarcity footprints averaged 432·6 L-eq (95 % CI 432·5, 432·8), less than the 695 litres/person per d available to support the current global population of 7·8 billion, and the 603 litres/person per d available for a future population of 9 billion. Diets based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines required 521 L-eq/d, or 379 L-eq/d with lower water scarcity footprint food choices. Conclusions: Diets based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines were found to be within the freshwater planetary boundary. What is needed in Australia is greater compliance with dietary guidelines.en_ZA
dc.description.versionPublisher's versionen_ZA
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980021000483
dc.identifier.citationRidoutt, B.G., Baird, D., Anastasiou, K., & Hendrie, G.A. (2021). An assessment of the water use associated with Australian diets using a planetary boundary framework. Public Health Nutrition, 24(6), 1570-1575. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980021000483en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1475-2727
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11660/11686
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherCambridge University Pressen_ZA
dc.rights.holderAuthor(s)en_ZA
dc.rights.licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectAustralian Health Surveyen_ZA
dc.subjectDietary guidelinesen_ZA
dc.subjectDiscretionary fooden_ZA
dc.subjectLife cycle assessmenten_ZA
dc.subjectSustainable dieten_ZA
dc.subjectWater footprinten_ZA
dc.titleAn assessment of the water use associated with Australian diets using a planetary boundary frameworken_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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