Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Some of the biggest challenges facing humanity are climate change and future food security, and current
dietary patterns are contributing significantly to these problem. While the causes of climate change are
known, effective adaption and mitigation will require changing human behaviour and diet. The aim of
this study is to explore the link between people's dietary intakes and their behaviour and attitudes to pro-
environmental issues. Cluster analysis was used to identify dietary patterns in the sample and principal
component analysis used to describe patterns of environmental behaviours and attitudes. Three clusters
are identified; mainstream, health conscious and traditional dietary patterns. The health conscious and
mainstream diets are associated with lower GHG emissions than the traditional diet; however this is
explained in part by lower energy intakes. Pro-environmental behaviours were more likely to be reported
by those with a health conscious diet, but attitudes towards and knowledge of environmental issues
did not differ between the three dietary clusters. No association was found between pro-environmental
attitudes and behaviours, supporting the idea that simply raising awareness of these links is unlikely to
shift people towards healthy more environmentally sustainable diets needed for future food security.
Year
2018
Category
Refereed journal