Adverse environmental effects of international trade are emphasized in the literature frequently. Nevertheless, following a theoretical trade logic, the production of goods in regions with higher resource efficiency may lead to reduced global resource use. In this article, major drivers of food-related material footprint (MF) are analyzed at the global, regional, and country levels. Changes in consumption, the supply chain's efficiency, and participation in international trade are considered drivers of MF. An index decomposition analysis was conducted to assess the contribution of these factors to the variation of the MF in time. Our results partially prove that the optimization regarding natural resource use may contribute to a lower MF of food consumption. Regions and countries with increasing food imports reinforce their efficiency improvement with the lower resource intensity of imported goods, and the international trade counteracted the effects on additional resource requirements of increasing consumption throughout the analyzed period (1990–2013). Furthermore, the impact of international trade on capital stock is discussed. In line with the descending flow-type material intensity by approximately 5%, the material composition of the footprint has shifted toward stock building materials. Additionally, the intensity of the trade was found to be negatively correlated with domestic efficiency improvements.

中文翻译：

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材料捉迷藏：寻找因食品国际贸易而节省的资源

文献中经常强调国际贸易对环境的不利影响。尽管如此，按照理论贸易逻辑，在资源效率较高的地区生产商品可能会导致全球资源使用量减少。本文在全球、区域和国家层面分析了食品相关材料足迹 (MF) 的主要驱动因素。消费、供应链效率和国际贸易参与的变化被认为是 MF 的驱动因素。进行指数分解分析以评估这些因素对MF随时间变化的贡献。我们的结果部分证明了关于自然资源使用的优化可能有助于降低食品消费的 MF。粮食进口增加的地区和国家通过降低进口商品的资源密集度加强了效率提高，并且在整个分析期间（1990-2013 年），国际贸易抵消了消费增加对额外资源需求的影响。此外，还讨论了国际贸易对资本存量的影响。与下降约 5% 的流动型材料强度一致，足迹的材料成分已转向库存建筑材料。此外，还发现贸易强度与国内效率的提高呈负相关。在整个分析期间（1990-2013 年），国际贸易抵消了消费增加对额外资源需求的影响。此外，还讨论了国际贸易对资本存量的影响。与下降约 5% 的流动型材料强度一致，足迹的材料成分已转向库存建筑材料。此外，还发现贸易强度与国内效率的提高呈负相关。在整个分析期间（1990-2013 年），国际贸易抵消了消费增加对额外资源需求的影响。此外，还讨论了国际贸易对资本存量的影响。与下降约 5% 的流动型材料强度一致，足迹的材料成分已转向库存建筑材料。此外，还发现贸易强度与国内效率的提高呈负相关。