Strategies for reducing food waste and developing sustainable diets require information about the impacts of consumption behavior and waste generation on climatic, water, and land resources. We quantified the carbon, water, and ecological footprints of 17,110 family members of Chinese households, covering 1935 types of foods, by combining survey data with available life-cycle assessment data sets. We also summarized the patterns of both food consumption and waste generation and analyzed the factors influencing the observed trends. The average person wasted (consumed) 16 (415) kg of food at home annually, equivalent to 40 (1080) kg CO2e, 18 (673) m3, and 173 (4956) gm2 for the carbon, water and ecological footprints, respectively. The generation of food waste was highly correlated with consumption for various food groups. For example, vegetables, rice, and wheat were consumed the most and accounted for the most waste. In addition to the three plant-derived food groups, pork and aquatic products also contributed greatly to embedded footprints. The data obtained in this study could be used for assessing national food security or the carrying capacity of resources.

Brent geese Branta bernicla spring fattening around Agerø, Denmark, alternate between feeding on saltmarshes and submerged Zostera beds in Limfjorden. It appeared from field observations that these alternations depended on the water level in Limfjorden. A model was developed to assess the impact of water level fluctuations on the habitat use. A second model was developed to estimate the impact of water level on Zostera availability. The first model was successful in demonstrating that fluctuations in water levels had considerable influence on habitat use by the brent geese, i.e. they fed on Zostera at low water levels and on saltmarshes during high water levels, particularly so in early spring, and that the switch between habitats occurred within a narrow water level span of ca 30 cm. The second model demonstrated that the switch between habitats could be explained by lowered availability of Zostera as water levels increased. By combining the output from the two models, differences between years could partly be explained by differences in Zostera availability in the early spring period (21 March ‐ 25 April), whereas a more complicated situation was detected later in spring (26 April ‐ 31 May). The models presented may be considered as tools in investigations of habitat use and carrying capacity of seagrass beds in non‐tidal areas, where birds' access to feeding areas regularly may be hindered by high water levels.