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Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers
Abstract and Figures
The global impacts of food production
Food is produced and processed by millions of farmers and intermediaries globally, with substantial associated environmental costs. Given the heterogeneity of producers, what is the best way to reduce food's environmental impacts? Poore and Nemecek consolidated data on the multiple environmental impacts of ∼38,000 farms producing 40 different agricultural goods around the world in a meta-analysis comparing various types of food production systems. The environmental cost of producing the same goods can be highly variable. However, this heterogeneity creates opportunities to target the small numbers of producers that have the most impact.
Science , this issue p. 987
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... Un des participants de notre étude abordait également l'importance de l'origine locale des aliments conseillés aux patients. L'impact du transport dans la chaine de production alimentaire est en réalité très faible, notamment pour les produits d'origine animale (<5%) (121,122). Bien qu'intéressant à prendre en compte pour les produits d'origine végétale, cela ne semble pas être le critère ayant le plus d'incidence sur le plan écologique dans notre mode de consommation alimentaire actuel. ...
En ce début de XXIème siècle, la question du développement durable, de l’écologie, du réchauffement climatique et de la préservation de l’environnement naturel planétaire devient de plus en plus omniprésente, dans chacun des aspects de notre vie quotidienne. Selon The Lancet Commissions : « le changement climatique est la plus grande menace sanitaire du 21ème siècle » (1). Il parait donc important de rappeler les liens entre l’environnement et la santé, car comme le dit si bien Eva Decotte, médecin généraliste des Hautes-Pyrénées et membre de la WONCA : « Pour être en bonne santé, l’humanité doit prendre autant soin de son environnement que d’elle-même. Les connexions multiples qui nous lient à notre environnement nous en rendent indissociables, et les bénéfices de la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique sont inestimables pour la santé humaine et la biodiversité. » (2). Ainsi, de nombreux auteurs suggèrent de recentrer la santé au cœur du problème climatique, afin de considérer le changement climatique tel un risque majeur et urgent menaçant la santé humaine. En ce sens, l’écologie et le développement durable devraient être une des priorités des médecins généralistes et des professionnels de santé en général, et ce dans un objectif de santé publique. (3–5) Et c’est bien ici ce qui nous intéresse, la santé étant le cœur de notre métier.
... Land use for bioelectricity production and associated agricultural processes also intensifies major ecological challenges like the alterations of biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen and phosphorous [10]. Energy crops also compete with food production over global terrestrial productivity (or net primary production NPP) [12,13]. ...
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report (AR6) allocates 15% to 43% of global primary energy to biomass in 2050 across multiple mitigation scenarios. The report also emphasizes the importance of electrification. For increased reliance on electricity and on biomass, bioelectricity is expected to play a major role. It is therefore vital to know whether the energy generation potential of biomass electricity can support the removal of its environmental impact, particularly as generation at large scale is expected to rely almost solely on energy crops. This paper evaluates the potential of short-rotation woody crops in generating green electricity. This is performed using the “Green Energy Return on Investment (EROIg)” methodology, which indicates the net energy generated after investing in ecosystem maintenance energy (ESME). This study found that the EROIg of bioelectricity is marginally larger than unity when converted to its primary equivalent form (EROIg-PE). Three design options were proposed to improve bioenergy’s EROIg. Among these options, pelletizing wood chips has the largest advantage with an EROIg of 1.11 and an EROIg-PE of 3.17. We conclude with a discussion of the indirect advantages of growing energy crops, and discuss how this technique can be used alongside others to help generate cleaner energy.
... Yet, apart from their adaptation potential, the deployment of "waste-to-food", "waste-to-proteins" or "waste-to-nutrition" pathways is also increasingly promoted as a solution to mitigate global environmental impacts (Javourez et al., 2021;Piercy et al., 2022;Smetana et al., 2022). This is because current food system plays a predominant role in global planetary boundaries overshooting (Gerten et al., 2020), triggering the need to decrease the impacts of livestock production, by downsizing the share of animal-based food in global diets as well as reducing the impacts of feed production (Poore and Nemecek, 2018;Wilfart et al., 2019). Building on these observations, projects aiming to transform residual biomass streams into food and feed propose to decouple food production (majorly livestock production) from arable land (Alexander et al., 2017;Pikaar et al., 2018;Tallentire et al., 2018) and shorten nutrients cycles (Smetana et al., 2022). ...
Waste recovery technologies targeting the formulation of edible ingredients such as insects, microorganisms, or proteins extracts, are increasingly promoted to mitigate global environmental impacts. Yet, many conversion pathways exist, and little is known about the plausibility, the implications, and the environmental relevance of deploying them: a comparative framework is missing. To this end, we reviewed the available data and literature documenting these emerging biorefineries and compiled it into six harmonized life cycle inventory (LCI) models estimating the forecasted performances of 16 representative “waste-to-nutrition” pathways in function of 18 input stream characteristics and 293 process parameters. Illustrated on eleven case studies, the results quantify the untapped potential of transforming waste into novel food and feed, but also precisely document why these are no free lunches by unravelling the intrinsic trade-offs between their energy intensity, their yield and the initial composition-structure of input streams. We show that several scenarios are possible to achieve France’s protein feed autonomy by scaling and combining different waste-to-nutrition pathways, but that each scenario would lead to different implications for the energy system and in terms of biomass mobilization. As provided, the LCI models capture the implications associated with these waste recovery technologies and are ready to support their prospective life cycle assessment.
According to the theory of Ignacy Sachs, a Polish naturalized French ecosocial economist, several world contemporaneous problems could be solved by the process called by him “Biomass revolution”. Livestock products are part of the needs of the world’s growing population, and the adopted production system to meet this demand, should be sustainable. Therefore, we considered Sachs’ thinking extremely appropriate as biomass is the primary source of nutrients for cattle production in the world. However, biomass is much more than forage. Why? Because biomass is feed and food, organic fertilizer, carbon sink, energy, fuel, promoter of biodiversity and animal welfare, part of the landscape scenario, an important component to regulate the water cycle, and the main component of agroforestry systems and agroecology science. In addition, as the negative effects of global warming are putting at risk the world’s food security, the reduction of biomass could potentiate this risk in pasture monocultures and the increase of biomass could also be part of the solution to enrich the agropastoral ecosystem (e.g. grasses, bushes and trees in the silvopastoral system – SPS). Thinking in a broader perspective, biomass could also be considered an important part of the linkages of the global livestock sector to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the UN Agenda 2030: no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life on land and partnerships for the goals. These SDGs also constitute an important framework for the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock, which has several actions to analyze and promote sustainable cattle production. SPS is defined as an agroforestry arrangement that aims to combine fodder plants (grass and leguminous forages) with shrubs and trees for animal nutrition and other uses (Murgueitio et al., Native trees and shrubs for the productive rehabilitation of tropical cattle ranching lands. For Ecol Manag 261:1654–1663, 2011). The present chapter will establish a link between the necessity of the world to generate the “biomass revolution”, and the potential of silvopastoral systems studies developed in Brazil and South America, as a possible mechanism to increase biomass, cattle/livestock production and environmental services in a sustainable way.
Human consumption of scarce ecological resources is at the heart of the climate change crisis. Mitigating climate change will require changes in consumer behavior. Further, to respond effectively, policymakers need information on the environmental impact of individuals’ behaviors. In this paper, we study the effect of socio-demographic characteristics and personality traits on individuals’ environmental impact measured by their ecological footprint. We also investigate consumers’ willingness to pay for “green” goods. Using survey data from the Netherlands, first, we construct individuals’ ecological footprint. The survey also uses a 50-item personality scale developed by Goldberg (1992) to construct five personality traits. We find that individuals with higher personal income, less than a high school education, males, the employed, and people living in rural areas are associated with a higher EF. We also find that consumers’ WTP and demand are responsive to price increases in high-emitting goods and personality traits. We contribute to our understanding of the influence of socio-demographic and personality characteristics on the actual ecological footprint at the individual level. Further, we contribute to the economic literature on consumers’ WTP for “green” products as well as the ongoing discussion on using market-based solutions to tackle climate change.
Proteins are an important nutrient and ingredient in food as well as in nutritional supplements. The application and take up of food proteins, especially plant proteins, has been limited due to their undesirable sensory properties, e.g. taste, odour, and chalky mouth feel. This will need to change if the availability of meat protein becomes scarcer.
Documenting the latest research, this book is the first overview of the recent advances in flavour research of food proteins, with an emphasis on the major plant proteins, e.g. soy and pulse proteins. The topics to be covered include sensory and instrumental characterization of flavour compounds in food proteins, how flavour profiles in food proteins can be formed or altered, research advances of individual food proteins, the use of food protein products as flavouring ingredients, and future trends of flavouring food proteins.
There is a growing interest in using plant proteins in food formulation and industrial applications, but no book has yet covered this systematically until now. Summarizing research advances in consumer studies and flavour chemistry that focus on food proteins, the book will discuss the flavour properties and problems in each major and novel food protein source for the academic and industry market.
To combat climate change, carbon dioxide must be prevented from entering the atmosphere or even removed from it. Biochar is one potential practice to sequester carbon, but its climate change mitigation potential depends on a multitude of parameters. Differentiating areas of low and high climate change mitigation through biochar addition is key to maximize its potential and effectively use the available feedstock for its production. This study models the realistic application of 1 metric tonne (t) per hectare (ha) of forest harvest residue derived biochar over the climatically and pedologically diverse agricultural area of British Columbia, Canada, and provides a framework and assumptions for reproducibility in other parts of the world. The model accounts for the direct (input of organic carbon) and indirect (enhanced plant biomass) effects of biochar on soil organic carbon stock, its impact on nitrous oxide emissions from soils, and the avoided emissions from the reduced lime requirement due to biochar's alkalinization potential. Impacts are modelled over 20‐year time horizon to account for the duration and magnitude variation over time of biochar effect on plant biomass and nitrous oxide emissions from soil and conform to the IPCC GWP 20‐year time horizon reporting. The results show that a single application of 1 t of biochar per ha⁻¹ can mitigate between 3 and 5 t CO2e ha⁻¹ over a 20‐year time frame. Applied to the 746,000 ha of agricultural land of British Columbia this translate to the mitigation of a total of 2.5 million metric tonnes (Mt) CO2e over a 20‐year time frame. Further, the results identify agricultural areas in the Lower Mainland region (the southwestern corner of British Columbia) as the area maximizing climate change mitigation potential through biochar addition due to a combination of relative high temperature, high precipitation, and crops with high nitrogen requirement.
There is an urgent need to globally advance human wellbeing and ecosystem restoration is required to achieve international targets. However, the relationship between ecosystem services and wellbeing is frequently assumed to be simple and positive, but this is not the case. This paper argues that a poor understanding of how and when ecosystem restoration can improve wellbeing causes a disconnect between the practice and the benefits it promises to provide. Problematic issues with carbon credits are discussed and a case is made against promoting ecosystem restoration initiatives based on carbon storage. Opportunities for ecosystem restoration to optimize gains in wellbeing are proposed, including the identification of sites where restoration has the greatest impact and the transition from carbon credit systems into ecosystem service credit systems. Future research directions are recommended, as are the production of international standards for ecosystem restoration in natural hazard recovery and risk mitigation.
In order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from beef production Uruguayan and New Zealand systems have a significant role to play. Despite the differences, both are exposed to the same threats, i.e. more profitable alternative systems competing for the land, with enhanced production through intensification being a common response, and increasing pressure on the environment. This issue has attracted attention around the world concerning climate change and GHG emissions associated with animal production systems. The comparison using a whole-farm model (OVERSEER®), shows clear differences in GHG emissions, with higher emissions (in carbon dioxide equivalents, CO2 eq) per kilogram of beef on Uruguayan farms (18.4-21.0 kg CO2 eq/beef) compared with New Zealand farms (8-10 kg CO2 eq/beef) as a result of lower production efficiency. However, the emissions per hectare were higher on intensive New Zealand farms (3013-6683 kg CO2 eq/ha/year) than on Uruguayan farms (1895-2226 kg CO2 eq/ha/year) due to high stocking rates and increased inputs. Sensitivity analysis revealed a large effect of methodology and the benefit of using tier 2 factors that account for differences in animal productivity and feed quality. Nitrous oxide emissions factors for animal excreta determined in New Zealand are half of the default IPCC factors, while activity factors for indirect nitrous oxide emissions from excreta-ammonia and N leaching are 50% and 23% respectively. Increased feed conversion efficiency in the more intensive systems was associated with lower GHG intensity but farm systems also need to account for other environmental factors that are more important on a regional or catchment basis.
The study of the environmental impact of agricultural products has significantly grown in recent years, as consumers now demand more information about the product’s footprint in the environment. The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impact of the life cycle phases of tsipouro production, which is one of the traditional products of Greece produced mainly from viticulture. The environmental analysis was performed through the study of eutrophication, global warming, photochemical oxidation and acidification, using the life cycle assessment methodology. The system was studied through fifteen subsystems and a 250 ml bottle of tsipouro, which was the basis of the calculations, was defined as a functional unit. From the results it appears that the process of tsipouro production is the subsystem with the highest energy consumption and the grape cultivation the one with the highest water consumption. In environmental impact the subsystem with the highest contribution is the cultivation of grapes. Also the subsystems production/transportation and use of fertilizers, bottle production/transportation and the process of tsipouro production have a significant contribution. In addition, some literature-based solutions are suggested. Some of the solutions are the use of clearer energy sources, the use of biodiesel and alternative cultivation methods without synthetic fertilizers. The results of this research can be used by tsipouro or similar industries to minimize the environmental impact and focus on the phases that are most involved in it.
Pasture systems for grass-fed beef production in the Gulf Coast region were evaluated for profitability and sustainability over the period 2009/2010 to 2011/2012. May-weaned steers were divided into groups and randomly placed into different pasture systems. Data on input usage, output quantities, and carbon emissions were recorded and analyzed. The least complex grazing system yielded higher profit than the most complex, but the most complex produced the lowest greenhouse gas impact. A trade-off was found between profitability and greenhouse gas impact among the systems.
Feeding late maturing young bulls on high concentrate diets needs adjustment of both animal feeding behaviour and rumen adaptation which can be done by feeding maize silage according to researchers at the National Institute of Agronomic Research, Saint-Genès Champanelle, France who state good economic results are achievable alongside animal welfare.
This study aims to produce multicriteria environmental figures (using Life Cycle Assessment, LCA) associated with socioeconomicindicators for different types of pig units representative of the main French production standards. Eight systems are assessed,defined by their size, the degree of specialization and the location of the pig unit, the slurry management and the pig feedingstrategy. The results are expressed per kilogram live pig produced at the farm level, and the field for Life Cycle Analysis includesproduction and supply of inputs, construction of buildings, pig breeding and management of slurry. These reference standardsprovide a picture of the socioeconomic and environmental performance of French pig production systems and of their variabilitybetween and within systems. The environmental results make it possible to identify the most strategic and easily attainableoptions of improvement. The efficiency of different strategies is evaluated in connection with feed formulation, improvement ofanimal performance, and the implementation of recommended good environmental practices. The socioeconomic indicators showthe various levels of access to the action levers.
In a world with an increasing urban population, analyzing the construction impacts of sanitation infrastructures through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is necessary for defining the best environmental management strategies. The purpose of this research is studying application of the life cycle assessment methodology to Hazelnut production under rain fed farming systems in forest north of Iran. Data were collected from 36 farms by used a face to face questionnaire method during 2013 year in Guilan province. In rain fed farming system, total green house gases emissions for hazelnut production were showed table 2 (66.955 kgCO2eqha-1).
