Environmental and nutritional impacts of dietary changes in Spain during the COVID-19 lockdown

Highlights

• An energy- and nutrient-based functional unit was applied to compare diets.

• COVID diet with higher energy and lower nutritional quality than pre-COVID diets.

• Larger environmental impacts of the COVID diet compared with Planetary Health Diet.

• Need for short guidelines promoting sustainable food habits during lockdowns.

• Environmental sustainability must be integrated in the National Dietary Guidelines.

Abstract

The COVID lockdown has affected food purchases and eating habits. In this regard, this short communication assesses the nutritional and environmental impacts of these changes during the COVID lockdown in Spain, by applying Life Cycle Assessment and an energy- and nutrient-corrected functional unit. Three environmental impacts were studied (Global Warming Potential, Blue Water Footprint and Land Use) and a total of seven weekly diet scenarios were designed: two pre-COVID diets for March and April in 2019 (MAR19, APR19), one COVID diet (COVID) and two alternative diets, one based on the National Dietary Guidelines (NDG) and another one on the Planetary Health Diet (PHD). Results show that the COVID diet had larger energy intake and lower nutritional quality, as well as higher environmental impacts (between 30 and 36%) than the pre-COVID eating patterns. Further research is needed to account for food affordability within this assessment, as well as to analyze how eating patterns will evolve after the COVID lockdown. Finally, the definition of short guidelines for sustainable food behaviors for future possible lockdowns is suggested, as well as the introduction of sustainable indicators within NDGs.