An integrated multiyear assessment framework of households' food consumption sustainability aspects

Advancing 'sustainable food systems' requires an understanding of food-consumption habits over time and their social-environmental-health implications. This paper presents a multi-year household food-consumption sustainability-assessment framework. It uses a database of 120,000 Israeli households to uncover consumption trends within various food categories over two decades. It explores changes in consumption habits and selected aspects of sustainability across different household types. Trends are presented for different types of households (small, medium, and large; younger and older; wealthy and poor). The changes in consumption and selected aspects of sustainability implications were analyzed, and a unified sustainability score was developed. It revealed a clear dichotomy between groups: while wealthy adults and the elderly food consumption, environmental footprint and nutrient intake grow, large and young families exhibit a decrease in environmental impact and nutrient intake. The outcomes of the analysis could be used to direct actions fit to a specific type of household and lifestyle.