Quantitative and Multi-Dimensional Assessment of Sustainable Diets

Dear Colleagues,

The concept of “Sustainable diet” was first proposed by the FAO in 2010 [1] and has since gained prominence in policy debates. The definition clearly lays out the four dimensions, or pillars, that a sustainable diet covers—namely, health, environment, economy and culture. Although conceptually appealing, the definition is difficult to use in practice to identify sustainable dietary patterns. First, quantifying the sustainability of foods and diets requires the definition and measurement of metrics (e.g.,  price and nutrient content of foods) for each sustainability pillar (e.g., economy and health), and comprehensive databases containing multiple metrics on the foods consumed in the population must therefore be developed [2]. Second, for each metric, quantitative objectives must also be defined, which generates new questions. For instance, should the objective be to improve metrics qualitatively (e.g., increase fiber intake) or achieve specific goals (e.g., reach a set target such as a fiber intake recommendation)? Third, when considering simultaneously all metrics of diet sustainability, trade-offs are likely to arise across dimensions (e.g., economic costs versus climate effect). As a consequence, adapted multi-criteria approaches ought to be developed to help select sustainable foods or diets. Finally, sustainable diets raise multiple policy issues, including the effective communication of sustainable diet recommendations at individual or population level;  the need to introduce incentives to encourage dietary change in the pursuit of sustainability; the impact of sustainable food choices on food production and rural areas; the need to develop public interventions to reduce food waste.

The Special Issue welcomes original research on the characterization of sustainable diets, the quantification of  the sustainability effects of adoption of sustainable diets, and the policy measures that could be implemented to bring about desirable dietary changes. Priority will be given to studies covering multiple sustainability dimensions with a quantitative orientation and an orginal approach.

Papers related to the following topics are welcome for submission:

• Definition and identification of sustainable diets;
• Methods to characterize sustainable diets;
• Quantified objectives of diet sustainability;
• Synergies and trade offs among dimensions of sustainable diets;
• Sustainability metrics and databases;
• Health, social, economic and environmental impacts of dietary change;
• Consumers’ sustainable food choices;
• National specific or global sustainable dietary choices;
• Planetary health diet;
• Diets of sustainable food systems;
• COVID-19 lockdown and it impact on sustainable food choices and production;
• Interventions and tools promoting diet sustainability;
• How to communicate sustainable diets;
• Sustainable diet recommendations;
• Sustainability of food demand and food supply;
• Sustainable diet scores;
• Innovations in food production, marketing and retail to enhance diet sustainability;
• Sustainable diet policy;
• Sustainable diet transition.

Dr. Florent Vieux
Prof. Dr. Xavier Irz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sustainable diets
• economy
• environment
• health
• culture
• food habits
• food production
• food waste
• food composition