Dietary patterns and environmental impacts of Chongqing hotpot in China

Abstract

Understanding the food choices of local people is key to identifying practical opportunities for sustainable dietary change. Here, we assess the dietary pattern and environmental impacts of Chongqing hotpot in China, a local food in the Szechuan Basin enjoyed by ∼110 million people primarily in restaurants with an increasing popularity nationwide. Through a yearlong survey, we find that hotpot meals are characterized by overconsumption (588.7 g/cap/meal), especially of animal-based products (∼70%). The embedded carbon footprint (CF) of hotpot reaches 3.5 kg CO2e per capita per meal; by contrast, the CF of recommended diets per capita per day in China is 2.3–3.7 kg CO2e. Its water footprint shows a similar trend. Hotpot meals are also more wasteful than other types of restaurant food (80.4 vs. 54.1–75.0 g/cap/meal). Our study raises concern about the environmental impacts of Chongqing hotpot. To mitigate these impacts, intervention strategies that should be considered include small-portion plates and plant-based meat alternatives.