Carbon footprint and nutrition estimation of Chinese eight cuisines

Abstract

Sustainable dietary choices can yield synergistic benefits for both human health and the environment, highlighting the importance of recipe-level analysis to provide actionable guidance for consumers. Chinese cuisines are highly diverse and are often classified into regional cuisines, with the Chinese eight cuisines as the most widely recognized grouping. The environmental and health impacts of these diverse cuisines remain unclear. This study quantified the cradle-to-table carbon footprint and nutritional profiles of 320 recipes from the Chinese eight cuisines, covering nine food categories and 13 cooking methods. The results show that the average carbon footprint of the Chinese cuisines was 1,337 (1,224-1,453) g CO₂e, some 60%-73% lower than that of Western meals. Among the eight cuisines, Sichuan Cuisine had the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with an average of 1,057 (970-1,144) g CO₂e. The main contributors to GHG emissions from Chinese cuisine were non-ruminant meat production (30%) and cooking (17%). The most common Chinese cooking methods were stir-frying (16 min, 25 g CO₂e, 20-30) and boiling (46 min, 287 g CO₂e, 231-352), both of which generated significantly lower emissions than the Western roasting method (112 min, 1,447-2,127 g CO₂e). A correlation analysis between nutrition and carbon footprint reveals that protein, cholesterol, and niacin were positively correlated with GHG emissions, whereas dietary fiber and carbohydrates showed negative correlations. This study provides standardized recipe-level data characterizing the environmental and nutritional performance of Chinese dishes, providing a scientific basis for promoting carbon labeling policies and the transition to low-carbon diets.

Keywords

Greenhouse gas emissions / cooking methods / carbon labelling / nutrition / life cycle assessment

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