Work

Ultraprocessed Food Consumption and Pre-Farmgate Greenhouse Gas Emissions Among United States Adults from 2007–2010

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Background Changes to the food system can have consequences for human and planetary health, and one recent change is increased consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF). While correlations between UPF intake and human health have been evaluated in the US, little is known about the association of UPF intake with pre-farmgate greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), which account for the majority of GHGE across the food lifecycle. Objective We used a nationally representative survey to evaluate the association between UPF consumption and pre-farmgate GHGE among US adults. Methods Data were from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2010. Participants were divided into quintiles based on proportion of grams from UPF using mean of two-day dietary recall. The database of Food Recall Impacts on the Environment for Nutrition and Dietary Studies was used to estimate the pre-farmgate GHGE (in kilograms-carbon dioxide equivalents, kg-CO 2 ) of foods. Multivariate linear regression models were used to test the association between quintiles of UPF consumption and pre-farmgate GHGE. Models were progressively adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, total caloric intake, and red and processed meat intake. Results Consuming a greater proportion of grams from UPF was associated with higher pre-farmgate GHGE in unadjusted analyses. However, when the analyses were adjusted for total energy, we saw the opposite trend, such that consuming a higher proportion of grams from UPF was associated with lower pre-farmgate emissions: emissions for the highest quintile of UPF consumption were 4.47 (95% CI: 4.27, 4.67) kg-CO 2 -eq, compared to 4.85 (95% CI: 4.64, 5.05) kg-CO 2 -eq for the highest quintile (p trend =.003). Conclusions While we find that diets with a greater proportion of grams from UPF have lower pre-farmgate GHGE, our analyses show an opposite trend when they are not adjusted for total energy intake, demonstrating the need for caution when analyzing the relationship of UPF intake with GHGE.

Source: Current Developments in Nutrition

DOI: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2025.107460

Authors: Rhea Jayaswal, Sarah M Frank, Euridice Martinez Steele, Donald Rose, Lindsey Smith Taillie

Institutions: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Center for Science in the Public Interest (United States), University of Edinburgh, Universidade de São Paulo, Tulane University

Language: English

Topic: Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact

Subfield: Ecology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Zero hunger, Good health and well-being, Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $5,000