Indonesian Nitrogen Footprint Assessment of Food Sector

The emission of reactive nitrogen (N) through the food sector is a serious problem for human health and the environment. Indonesia, as an agrarian and populous country, has a high demand for N to provide sufficient food.

We calculated the food N footprint in Indonesia, which was assessed from 1961 to 2013. We found that the per capita food N footprint had an increase trend and reached 14.7 kg-N capita−1 year−1 in 2013. Food diets and excess use of fertilizers are the main contributors to the food N footprint in Indonesia.