Systematic review and meta-analysis highlight dietary environmental impacts in Latin America, suggesting the need for evidence-based public policies.
OBJECTIVE: To examine and synthesize data on the environmental impact of diet in Latin America. DESIGN: A systematic review was conducted in April 2024, using Medline, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus databases, and updated in March 2025. We synthesized the evidence on the most reported environmental impact indicators. Meta-analysis was conducted to derive pooled estimates for individual countries of the mean dietary carbon and water footprints per person/per day; crude and energy-standardised (to 8,368 kJ (2,000 kcal)) values and stratified by dietary assessment method (DAM) and sociodemographic variables. SETTING: Latin America. PARTICIPANTS: Latin American populations. RESULTS: -equivalents/person/day/8,368 kJ with no significant differences between DAM (p=0.86). A higher carbon footprint was observed in individuals with higher education level and urban residence (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The available evidence suggested a wide variation in dietary environmental impact between Latin American countries, but a paucity of studies conducted in countries other than Brazil. Standardised approach to estimate the environmental impact of diet across the region, and analytical perspectives in further research would support the development of country-relevant evidence-based public policies for sustainable diets in Latin America.
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Araya-Bastias et al. (2026) studied this question.
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