Integrated environmental and nutritional efficiencies of local foods in Indonesia: a cradle-to-grave enviro-nutritional life cycle assessment.

BACKGROUND

Indonesia faces simultaneous pressure to improve nutrition and reduce the environmental burden of food systems yet is underrepresented in nutritional life cycle assessment (nLCA) literature. Most existing nutritional functional units (nFUs) were developed in high-income countries, with no consensus on which nFU suits which purpose. Food and Agriculture Organization guidance sets out how such choices should be justified against a study's goal and scope. We evaluated the enviro-nutritional efficiencies of commonly consumed Indonesian foods using a holistic nFU.

METHODS

We modelled 90 Indonesian foods across five food groups (animal-source foods; pulses, nuts, and seeds; starchy staples; vegetables; and fruits) from cradle-to-grave, including home and street preparation, and waste management. LCA results for seven environmental impact categories were integrated with the Nutritional Value Score (NVS), a holistic food rating system capturing nutrient density and protective factors against noncommunicable diseases, using a nFU of 100 NVS. Economic allocation was applied, with cut-off for select co-products.

FINDINGS: Variability in enviro-nutritional efficiencies reached 211 times the lowest value within food groups. Animal-source foods and vegetables showed the greatest variability across most indicators; pulses, nuts, and seeds and fruits were most variable for water use. Primary production contributed most to environmental impacts for most foods, with exceptions for some processed foods, co-products, and fruits with high refuse. Alignment of enviro-nutritional efficiency with nutritional value was strongest for starchy staples (R2 = 0.65) and weakest for animal-source foods (R2 = 0.00).

INTERPRETATION: Combining holistic nutrient profiling with LCA can identify context-appropriate foods that deliver high nutritional value with lower environmental impact in underrepresented middle-income settings. Findings should be complemented by modelling multi-ingredient foods and sub-national heterogeneity.

FUNDING: Nourishing Food Pathways programme.