In what is viewed as the first scientific study to explore nutrient profiles related to greenhouse gas emissions in the production life cycle of various beverages, a Swedish study establishes the relation of beverage nutrient density to climate impact and indicates that milk performed better than other beverages. A research team from Uppsala in Sweden and Seattle in the United States developed the new Nutrient Density to Climate Impact (NDCI) Index to compare beverages within this broader context.
“This study helps support the importance of bringing nutrient density to the discussion as the carbon footprint of beverages and foods is examined,” said Dr. Greg Miller, president of the Dairy Research Institute.
In the Swedish study, the NDCI for milk was 0.54 for milk, compared to 0.25 for soy drink and 0.28 for orange juice. Beverages with the highest index value had the highest nutrient density scores in relation to GHG emissions. Carbonated water, soft drinks and beer all scored zero due to their low nutritional value, while red wine and oat drink scored below 0.1.
He cautioned that this nutrient density — climate index research is a single study specific to the production and nutrient content of milk and other beverages in Sweden, and that while the results are not necessarily transferrable to other countries, the study was positive for dairy.
Miller indicated that this work builds upon previous research conducted in the U.S., which was funded by dairy farmers through the National Dairy Council (NDC) to demonstrate the nutrient richness of dairy foods. Milk is America’s No. 1 source of calcium, potassium and vitamin D in the diet, and provides six other essential nutrients. NDC helped support the development of the Nutrient Rich Foods (NRF) Index — a scientifically valid definition of nutrient density that takes into account the total nutritional quality of a food or beverage. The NRF Index (published in the August 2009, issue of the Journal of Nutrition2) was created to help people have healthier diets by choosing more nutrient-rich foods from all food groups.
He added that extensive consumer research indicates that people want to believe that dairy products can be part of a lifestyle that promotes health and nutrition, benefits communities and protects the environment. To this end, he pointed to U.S. dairy industry efforts to better understand and improve environmental and nutritional impact, including ongoing life cycle assessments (LCAs) from farm to table,
and environmental and human nutrition research being conducted on behalf of The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.
Given dairy’s longstanding commitment to sound science, Miller expects additional research to be conducted to further advance the dairy industry’s scientific insights in the areas of nutrition and environment, and the links between them.
Source: Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy