Global Biodiversity Loss by Freshwater Consumption and Eutrophication from Swiss Food Consumption

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• 作者：Laura Scherer ; Stephan Pfister
• 刊名：Environmental Science & Technology
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：July 5, 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：50
• 期：13
• 页码：7019-7028
• 全文大小：616K
• 年卷期：0
• ISSN：1520-5851

文摘

We investigated water-related resource use, emissions and ecosystem impacts of food consumed in Switzerland. To do so, we coupled LCA methodologies on freshwater consumption, freshwater eutrophication and the consequent local and global biodiversity impacts with Swiss customs data and multiregional input-output analysis. Most of the resource use, emissions and impacts occur outside the national boundaries which illustrates the extent of environmental outsourcing facilitated by international trade. Countries that are severely affected by Swiss food consumption include Spain, the United States and Ecuador. Cocoa, coffee, and almonds stood out as products with high impacts. By identifying spatial hotspots and impactful products, awareness of policy-makers as well as individual consumers can be raised and efforts of detailed assessments can be streamlined. However, political and economic constraints and the resistance by individual consumers limit the high potential of changes in diets and trade relations to decrease the environmental impacts of food.