health and environment impacts of food consumption

The document introduces a new integrated modelling framework to assess the simultaneous impacts of agricultural systems on climate change and human health. Using data from 2014–2018, the model estimates global emissions of methane, nitrous oxide, and ammonia, while quantifying deaths associated with dietary risks, malnutrition, obesity, and air pollution. The results are consistent with previous independent studies, suggesting the model can be used to evaluate agricultural strategies that balance food demand with the minimization of health and climate impacts.

• In 2018, the model estimated global methane emissions at 129 million metric tons and nitrous oxide emissions at 4.4 million metric tons, while agricultural systems emitted 44 million tons of ammonia.
• The model estimated significant global health burdens: 4.1 million deaths from dietary health risks, 6 million from obesity, and 730,000 infant deaths from malnutrition.
• Agricultural air pollutant emissions were linked to 537,000 premature deaths caused by fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure and 184,000 premature deaths resulting from methane-induced ground-level ozone.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2021). health and environment impacts of food consumption. https://www.sei.org/publications/health-and-environment-impacts-of-food-consumption/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. health and environment impacts of food consumption. 2021. https://www.sei.org/publications/health-and-environment-impacts-of-food-consumption/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=health and environment impacts of food consumption |date=6 July 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/health-and-environment-impacts-of-food-consumption/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2021health, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{health and environment impacts of food consumption}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = jul, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/health-and-environment-impacts-of-food-consumption/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }