Assessing food and nutrient security in Taiwan: Integrating sustainability and the planetary health diet

Food and nutrient security are critical for population health and environmental sustainability. This study aimed to assess Taiwan's food and nutrient security and its alignment with the planetary health diet (PHD), integrating CO₂ impact analysis.

This study introduces the Food Security Index (FSI) and Nutrient Security Index (NSI) to assess Taiwan's food and nutrient security. It also examines adherence to the PHD and uses life cycle assessment to evaluate CO₂ emissions across regions/countries, offering a comprehensive view of environmental impacts. From 2017 to 2020, the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan estimated the prevalence of undernourishment (PoU) for 12 120 participants using FAO methods. Additionally, the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) was calculated for 2879 participants in 2022-23 with FAO's RM.weights package. The FSI and NSI were derived from supply-to-needs (S-Nr) and intake-to-needs (I-Nr) ratios using NAHSIT and the food balance sheet (FBS). Moreover, PHD score (PHDS) was applied to assess PHD adherence and compare CO₂ emissions across 12 regions/countries using FBS.

Taiwan with PoU below 2.5% (2017-20), FIES 1.1% (2022-23). FBS showed S-Nr 0.84 for vegetables, 0.77 for fruits, and 0.47 for dairy. I-Nr for calcium was 0.56, while NAHSIT S-Nr was 0.97 for cereals/roots, 0.36 for dairy, and 0.71 for vegetables/fruits, I-Nr 0.58 for fiber, 0.56 for calcium, and 0.49 for vitamin D. Taiwan achieved the highest PHDS (48.55%), while Brazil had the lowest (31.06%). A moderate negative correlation (r = -0.413) was found between PHDS and food-related CO₂ emissions.

Despite high food security, targeted policies are needed to address nutrient imbalances and promote sustainable diets.