International trade has played a major role in defining the modern global economy. Trade, however, entangles the environmental pressures of economic sectors, giving the illusion of environmental... Show moreInternational trade has played a major role in defining the modern global economy. Trade, however, entangles the environmental pressures of economic sectors, giving the illusion of environmental improvements, while the opposite may be occurring. This dissertation explores the role of international trade on the environmental impacts of two sectors: the food system and the plastic waste system. For each system, this work finds that international trade leads to unwelcomed tradeoffs. Within the food system, in the form of consumption patterns that have been able to shift towards more land intensive diets. Adopting more autarkic food policies may help shift food consumption back towards diets that are more in line with planetary boundaries while also improving the efficiency of currently underdeveloped food supply chains. Within the plastic waste system, international trade has been detrimental by increasing plastic waste leaking to the aquatic environment, particularly from high-income countries. Recycling policies within these countries have amplified the quantities of plastic waste being exported to reach recycling metrics, ultimately highlighting the need for improved metrics to evaluate the environmental tradeoffs of plastic waste disposal. Show less
Navarre, N.H.; Schrama, M.J.J.; Vos, C. de; Mogollon, J.M. 2023
Summary Trade has helped the global food system drastically reduce world hunger. However, it has also left nations vulnerable to food-trade shocks that can lead to local food shortages. National... Show moreSummary Trade has helped the global food system drastically reduce world hunger. However, it has also left nations vulnerable to food-trade shocks that can lead to local food shortages. National food resilience may be increased by exploring the feasibility of adapting healthy diets to local production and sourcing. The EAT-Lancet diet has been proposed as a healthy and environmentally friendly diet, but the feasibility of sourcing it nationally remains unknown. Using FAOSTAT production data and EAT-Lancet Commission guidelines, we create a unique EAT-Lancet diet for each nation. We compare the agricultural land required for each country to supply this diet to their available agricultural land. For nations that did not have sufficient agricultural land, interventions to reduce land use were elaborated by adjusting production and consumption efficiencies of all modeled diets, revealing that 95% of the global population live in countries with a potential pathway toward food self-sufficiency. Show less
