INVESTIGATING MEAT SUBSTITUTE ALTERNATIVES - OPTIMAL SOLUTIONS

Abstract

Achieving a complete set of nutritional recommendations for food consumption is currently very challenging. A linear programming diet optimization model appears to be a useful mathematical tool for determining nutrient-based recommendations in nutritionally optimal food combinations. We used linear programming methods to explore optimal patterns of food intake that meet the nutritional recommendations given in the Reference Intakes. The main goal of the paper was to investigate and verify the research assumption that meat can be replaced by legumes. At the same time, we wanted to verify whether the carbon footprint of food will change the optimal structure of food consumption.
We found it very difficult to replace meat with other substitutes than we expected - namely legumes. In the model with price in the basic solution, we arrived at an optimal solution that contained some kind of meat. However, we also reached a similar result by changing the basic solution from prices to emissions represented by the carbon footprint. In the optimal solution, meat was again present, albeit in smaller quantities. Legumes accounted for a tiny amount of grams in consumption.