Assessment of the environmental, health and economic linkages of traditional tapas in Spain: A cluster and LCA approach

'Tapas culture' in Spain is an important gastronomic phenomenon associated with eating out; however, environmental, health and economic information on the tapas themselves is almost non-existent. The main objective of this work is thus to evaluate, in a novel way, the linkages between the environmental impact, health and economic cost of 40 tapas served free of charge with drinks in León. From primary information collected in bars and restaurants and within the LCA framework, we evaluated: a) carbon footprint (CF - farm to fork approach); b) nutritional profiles (kcal, protein, fats) and Nutrient Rich Diet Index (NRD 9.3); c) economic cost and d) eco-efficiency indicators based on different functional units. The weight, kcal content, NRD9.3, CF and average cost of the tapas were estimated as: 0.11 (±0.05) g, 201 (±130) kcal, 640 (±335) points, 0.38 (±0.21) kg CO₂-eq, 0.38 (±0.21) € per tapa. A cluster analysis of these indicators resulted in four groups of tapas according to economic and nutritional variables, such as the level of presence of animal products. Our model shows that in an agroecological scenario (using organic, local and seasonal foods and higher cooking efficiency) it is possible a CF reduction between 6 % and 60 % depending on the tapa analyzed but increasing their average cost. However, this assessment of the environmental/health/economic implications provides scientific evidence of the positive effects of switching to more sustainable and healthy tapas at a reasonable cost increase linked to a change in diet and culinary offerings. This evidence serves as a basis for defending the need to promote actions and public policies to build a more sustainable, healthy, and culturally adapted food system.