From Production to Consumption: Reshaping Life Cycles Toward Sustainable Dietary Patterns and Food Systems

The understanding of nutrition has evolved to include environmental, social, and economic dimensions alongside the traditional focus on energy balance and nutritional profiles of foods. With the increasing global population, urbanization, and changing eating habits, the agri-food system faces challenges such as global warming, depletion of resources, biodiversity loss, and inequitable food distribution. The concept of a sustainable diet has emerged as a vital element in ensuring food security, individual health, and environmental protection. A sustainable diet is defined by the FAO as having a low environmental impact and contributing to food security and healthy living for present and future generations. Life Cycle Assessments have revealed that the production of red meat, intensive dairy products, and refined grains leads to significant greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and deforestation. Alternatively, diets based on legumes, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and plant-based proteins have a lower environmental impact.

The contemporary global food system, characterised by elevated consumption of resource-intensive animal products and ultra-processed foods, exerts considerable pressure on land, water and climate resources while demonstrating an inability to provide balanced nutrition for all individuals. The interlinked challenges of rising greenhouse gas emissions, soil degradation and biodiversity loss are further compounded by the simultaneous existence of over- and under-nutrition, as evidenced by the coexistence of obesity and micronutrient deficiencies across and within populations. Furthermore, socio-economic barriers and entrenched cultural practices act as significant impediments to the adoption of healthier, lower-impact diets. In order to address these challenges, this Research Topic will bring together studies that

(1) develop integrated metrics – such as life-cycle assessment and nutritional quality – to benchmark diet sustainability

(2) evaluate innovative food sources and regenerative agricultural practices for their environmental and health outcomes

(3) assess policy instruments – such as taxes, subsidies and education campaigns – that effectively shift consumer choices

(4) explore socio-cultural dynamics and access inequalities that shape dietary transitions.

The objective of this study is to integrate the fields of environmental, nutritional and social science in order to establish practical pathways for the development of dietary regimens that are both nutritionally adequate and environmentally sustainable, with a view to promoting human health and ecological rehabilitation.

Contributions that advance the understanding of sustainable diets and the food-environment nexus are invited. The following themes will be examined:

The development and application of integrated sustainability metrics (e.g. combined LCA–nutrition frameworks) is imperative in order to evaluate the potential of alternative protein sources (legumes, insects, algae, cultured meat) and regenerative agricultural models. Furthermore, policy instruments (fiscal measures, labelling schemes, educational campaigns) that are capable of shifting consumer behaviour must be assessed.

In addition, socio-cultural and economic analyses of dietary transitions, access inequalities and acceptance of novel foods are necessary. Finally, innovations in supply-chain design, waste reduction and circular-economy approaches are essential.

Original Research Articles, Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses, Case Studies, Policy Briefs, Perspective and Opinion pieces, and Methodological papers. We particularly welcome interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work that bridges environmental science, nutrition, public health and social policy.

Keywords: Sustainable diets, circular Economy, Food system, Life Cycle Assessment, Food Sustainability

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.