Efficiency assessment of diets in the Spanish regions: a multi-criteria cross-cutting approach

Abstract

Food systems are one of the main drivers of the global greenhouse gases emissions from anthropogenic sources, which could be aggravated by the projected increase in world population. Hence, the adoption of sustainable diets that guarantee good and accessible nutrition and a low environmental impact is an increasingly important need. This goal is, by nature, a multi-dimensional and multi-criteria challenge that should take into account nutritional, environmental and socio-economic aspects. In this sense, this work proposes a novel methodological framework that involves the use of Data Envelopment Analysis for the efficiency assessment of dietary patterns integrating nutritional (Nutrient Rich Diet 9.3 index), environmental (carbon footprint) and socio-economic criteria (number of deaths due to tumours of the digestive system, obesity-related health expenditure, and number of persons with food shortages). The applicability of this methodology is proven through the case study of the dietary patterns of the 17 Spanish autonomous regions. The analysis reveals the existence of seven autonomous regions with sustainable dietary patterns. Furthermore, most regions have multi-criteria efficiency scores above 0.60, which suggests the presence of relatively good dietary habits in Spain. Overall, it is concluded that the proposed methodology is a viable and valuable tool for benchmarking dietary patterns under multiple cross-cutting criteria.