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)
Findings
- Replacing or adding locally available, low-emission seafood ingredients (like mussels, anchovies, sardines, mackerel, and fish trimmings) can significantly lower the carbon footprint of convenient ready-made meals while increasing the amount of nutrients in the meal.
- Lower-income people currently do not eat these types of seafoods because they are too expensive, often unavailable, and difficult to cook without enough knowledge and cooking equipment. To try them would be a big and expensive risk (what if their family doesn’t like it?). However, lower-income people are willing to try convenient foods with new recipes that include them, if they were affordable, available, and easy to cook.
- Because of this scoping study, we are going to run some taste tests and cooking classes in Stirlingshire, Scotland, to see if we can bust through these barriers and encourage lower-income people to eat more and a larger variety of seafood.
Suggestions for further research
- Future research on and interventions that aim to increase the UK’s seafood consumption should be designed to account for the specific needs of lower-income consumers so that they can be included. Many lower-income consumers that enjoy seafood are interested in trying new species and learning how to prepare them if they are affordable and accessible.
- Additionally, future research and interventions focused on improving UK diets should consider the role of locally produced seafood as a low-emission group of foods and dense source of nutrients. Too often, seafood is excluded from food security discussions despite their nutrient density, low carbon footprint, and historical importance in the UK’s culinary heritage.
