Long Qian, Qingling Rao, Hongbo Liu, Breda McCarthy, Li Liu, Ling-en Wang
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引用次数: 7
Abstract
ABSTRACT In recent years, there has been widespread concern regarding the carbon footprint (CF) of food waste due to the key impact of CF on climate change, particularly as China’s food waste is rising with its economic development. China has the largest scale of higher education in the world, and the amount of food waste in university canteens is considerable and cannot be ignored. This study attempts to assess the carbon footprint (CF) of food waste at Chinese universities for the first time based on a national survey. It is estimated that 1.55 million tons of food were wasted in Chinese university canteens in 2018, based on 9,192 samples covering 29 provinces in China. The associated CF was 2.51 Mt CO2eq. The top two food categories contributing to the total CF were meat and grains, accounting for 46.28% and 36.52%, respectively. Furthermore, the location of the university was significantly associated with the CF of plate waste. It also indicated that household income, meal satisfaction, sex, education, meal days, and food-saving campaigns were important factors influencing the CF of food waste. This study highlights areas that can help reduce the environmental impact of plate waste. It also provides targeted measures to reduce the associated CF of food waste in Chinese universities.
期刊介绍:
Ecosystem Health and Sustainability publishes articles on advances in ecology and sustainability science, how global environmental change affects ecosystem health, how changes in human activities affect ecosystem conditions, and system-based approaches for applying ecological science in decision-making to promote sustainable development. Papers focus on applying ecological theory, principles, and concepts to support sustainable development, especially in regions undergoing rapid environmental change. Papers on multi-scale, integrative, and interdisciplinary studies, and on international collaborations between scientists from industrialized and industrializing countries are especially welcome.
Suitable topics for EHS include:
• Global, regional and local studies of international significance
• Impact of global or regional environmental change on natural ecosystems
• Interdisciplinary research involving integration of natural, social, and behavioral sciences
• Science and policy that promote the use of ecological sciences in decision making
• Novel or multidisciplinary approaches for solving complex ecological problems
• Multi-scale and long-term observations of ecosystem evolution
• Development of novel systems approaches or modeling and simulation techniques
• Rapid responses to emerging ecological issues.