Su-Eatable Life Project: reducing carbon emissions and water use pressure through sustainable diet

Abstract

The EU food chain is at present highly carbon and water intensive. A significant contribution to reducing carbon emissions and pressure on water resources resulting from overuse might come from the adoption of a more sustainable and healthier diet. While people are generally aware that the food they eat is an important factor affecting their health, however, the impact that food production and consumption has on the world's resources is less known. There is therefore a need to build methods and tools that create awareness among the population about the potential savings of the resources that sustainable and healthy diets can bring, and stimulate the population to adopt such diets. The EU project SU-EATABLE LIFE aims at i) developing guidelines that define a sustainable and healthy diet, ii) carrying out a wide range of initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and education on food-related issues by citizens/customers and iii) implementing an easy-to-use information system that enables citizens to adopt such a diet. The long-term objective is to contribute to reducing GHG emissions and achieving water savings in the EU via citizen education and active engagement.