Life cycle environmental impacts of ready-made meals considering different cuisines and recipes

Convenience is one of the main determinants of modern society where products, such as ready-made meals, play a key role. However, the continuing growth of this market has raised environmental concerns, which have not been well studied yet. This paper evaluates life cycle environmental impacts of meals consumed in the UK, the second largest consumer of ready-made meals in the world, after the US. Thirteen representative ready-made meals are evaluated in the British, Italian, Chinese and Indian cuisines, considering variations in recipes found on the market, as well as different meat replacement options. The results suggest that environmentally the most sustainable meal option is pork roast dinner while the worst alternatives are spaghetti Bolognese, cottage pie, lamb masala curry and lasagne. For example, the global warming potential of pork roast is 2.1 kg CO₂ eq. and that of lasagne 5 kg CO₂ eq. The ingredients contribute >50% to the impacts, followed by the distribution (~14%) and manufacturing (~12%) stages. Using seitan or soy granules as meat replacements improves five out of 11 impacts considered, including global warming potential, by up to 27%; the other impacts are largely unaffected. However, if tofu is used, four impacts are improved while four others are worsened. The annual consumption of ready-made meals in the UK accounts for GHG emissions of 12.89 Mt. CO₂ eq., equivalent to emissions of a whole country, such as Jamaica. This contributes 15% to the emissions from the UK food and drink sector. It also represents 8% and 15% of the personal carbon budgets for food related to climate targets of 2 °C and 1.5 °C, respectively. The results of the study will be of interest to both food manufacturers and consumers, showing how their choices affect the environmental sustainability of this fast-growing sector.