Expanding the big five: achieving zero emissions by increasing seafood consumption diversity

UK consumers eat little seafood, which generally has lower carbon footprints than terrestrial animal-source foods. When UK consumers do eat seafood, they eat the ‘Big Five’ (cod, haddock, salmon, tuna, shrimp), which have higher carbon footprints relative to low-trophic seafood products (LTSP), like mackerel,  seaweed, and bivalves. Yet, many consumers (particularly lower-income ones) refrain from eating LTSP due to price, inconvenience, and unfamiliarity (of taste and cooking methods). Some researchers are already trialling novel mussel products, like ‘mussel burgers’ to increase consumption among all socio-economic classes while others are introducing mussels into school meals; however, there is a lack of targeted research on appropriate strategies to reach lower-income consumers particularly and LTSP more broadly. This project aims to scope convenience products commonly consumed among low-income demographics and assess which ones could include LTSP to lower their carbon footprints and increase the product’s nutritional value. 

Project lead: Stephanie Horn (University of Stirling)

Project collaborators: ThinkAqua, Fishmongers Company, Marine Conservation Society, Wesley Malcorps (University of Stirling), Julia Allan (University of Stirling)