Food-chain sustainability: from the EU policies to the environmental footprints of our diets

Food sustainability is crucial, intertwining agriculture and environmental science. UN Sustainable Development Goals emphasize food's role in global sustainability. The European Green Deal focuses on aligning the food system with environmental needs. Food production and consumption significantly impact human health, animal health, and the environment. Food sustainability index (FSI) and its application in food sustainability is a fundamental principle at the intersection of agriculture and environmental science. The FSI employs two weighting approaches: expert-assigned weights and uniform weights, allowing for flexibility in analysis. The selection of countries ensures broad representation across various economies and regions. Data modeling techniques comprehensively assess food sustainability, considering factors like food loss, sustainable agriculture, and nutritional challenges. The index employs key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to evaluate policies and outcomes related to food sustainability. It aims to raise awareness and monitor progress in addressing food sustainability issues globally. The current research aims to assess the food-chain sustainability: from the EU policies to the environmental footprints of our diets and validate the scale as part of the Food Choice. An online survey was completed by 123 respondents from multiple countries, throughout November and December 2023. Carbon footprint and water footprint were measured by Excel and the data were compared.