Indirect emissions contribute a quarter of air pollution-related health burden of food systems in China

Zheng, Lianming, Adalibieke, Wulahati, Zhou, Feng, He, Pan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1088-6290, Chen, Yilin, Guo, Peng, He, Jinling, Zhang, Yuanzheng, Li, Jin, Li, Weiran, Gan, Yining, Xu, Peng, Wang, Chen, Ye, Jianhuai, Zhu, Lei, Shen, Guofeng, Fu, Tzung-May, Yang, Xin, Zhao, Shunliu, Hakami, Amir, Meng, Jing and Shen, Huizhong 2025. Indirect emissions contribute a quarter of air pollution-related health burden of food systems in China. Nature Food 6 , pp. 766-776. 10.1038/s43016-025-01193-0 Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Agricultural intensification produces indirect emissions beyond ammonia volatilization from activities such as machinery usage, food processing, transportation, storage and energy inputs. Here we integrate an input-output analysis with air quality modelling approaches, showing that attributable mortality from indirect emissions has risen sixfold in China over the past 37 years. Indirect emissions now account for one-quarter of air pollution-related attributable mortality associated with food consumption. We find a marked redistribution of the indirect health burden, with low-income groups experiencing an additional 58% attributable deaths compared with their expected food consumption burdens, which were initially associated with the food consumption of high-income groups. Targeted strategies using abatement approaches could halve the indirect health burden, thereby mitigating the environmental impact of food consumption amid agricultural intensification.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Earth and Environmental Sciences
Publisher:	Nature Research
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	25 July 2025
Date of Acceptance:	10 June 2025
Last Modified:	08 Sep 2025 12:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/179960

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