Inequitable health outcomes of food consumption changes via aggravation of air pollution and climate change

Keywords: Dietary change, meat consumption, air pollution, climate change, public health, health inequity
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Modernized farming to meet the global food demands have led to severe environmental threats. Excessive application of fertilizer has led to large releases of reactive nitrogen compounds into the atmosphere, where they contribute to climate change and air pollution, with severe human health impacts. Here we combined numerical modeling and geostatistics to examine how the changing food consumption patterns from 1980-2010 in China contributed to an indirect health risk via worsening fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air quality. We integrated historical data with atmospheric modeling to find that ~40% of total PM2.5 increases over the period were associated with higher agricultural production, driven mostly by heavier meat consumption. Of the ~2 million Chinese premature deaths related to PM2.5 in 2010, ~10% were related to changes in dietary habits, representing significant respiratory health risks arising from collective meat consumption. Geostatistical analysis revealed that such risks are concentrated in poorer agricultural regions, whereas the rising meat demand is mostly driven by richer coastal cities, reflecting the existence of health inequity that mirrors how meat-driven greenhouse gases aggravate climate change that most significantly affects the health of the poor (e.g., by threatening food security). The same phenomenon was found to be taking place, albeit to a lesser extent, in other developing regions. Our studies highlight the myriad linkages among agriculture, pollution, climate change, and the associated health outcomes, whereby a better spatial characterization of causes and effects can help us devise better strategies to safeguard food security, public health, social equity and environmental sustainability.