Dados do Trabalho

Título

FEATURE IMPORTANCE IN FOOD PRODUCTION: IDENTIFYING KEY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Introdução

As the world's population grows, the demand for food, energy, and water rapidly increases. These elements are closely intertwined: (i) food production requires water and energy, (ii) energy generation requires water resources, and (iii) agriculture needs a potential energy source. Ensuring continuous access to a nutritious diet sustainably is a significant global challenge, and food choices have real impacts on climate change. This study addresses the research question: Using a dataset on common foods grown worldwide and their respective land, water use, and carbon footprints, which variables have the most significant negative environmental impact? The primary objective is to perform an in-depth feature importance analysis to evaluate how each attribute predicts the foods with the most adverse environmental impact.

Material e Métodos

Considering a dataset with 43 common foods and 23 columns detailing their land, water use, and carbon footprints, we conducted a feature importance analysis using three methods: SHAP, Permutation, and Gini.

Resultados e Discussão

The "farm" attribute — encompassing activities such as seeds and nurseries, fertilizers, pesticides, lime, fuel, machinery, infrastructure, and electricity — is the most significant predictor of foods with substantial adverse environmental impacts. Beef is the most harmful food in terms of carbon emissions during the farm stage. Reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in favor of organic fertilizers and biological pest control is necessary to increase soil fertility and produce sufficient food in a healthy environment. A balanced approach involves a moderate reduction in the consumption of foods with a high comprehensive carbon conversion coefficient. The best possible solution is to establish a low-carbon food structure, encouraging coordination between food supply and demand, promoting healthy eating, and ensuring nutritional security.

Conclusão

In conclusion, the analysis highlighted the need for sustainable agricultural practices and conscious food choices to minimize environmental impact and ensure global food security. Sustainable practices include reducing the carbon footprint of food production and consumption, promoting organic farming, and enhancing resource efficiency. By adopting these practices, it is possible to achieve a balance between environmental sustainability and nutritional needs, contributing to the overall health of the planet and its inhabitants.