Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
-
Brochure, flyer, fact-sheetLife cycle assessment for sustainable food systems: integrating nutritional and environmental assessment
Zoom webinar – concept note
2021Also available in:
No results found.Agri-food systems are major contributors to environmental degradation. At the same time obesity and diet related diseases is on the rise due to over consumption of ultra-processed food which is high in saturated fat, salt and sugar. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method provide insights into environmental impact of foods, meals, and diets from production to consumption. However, to date there is no agreed approach for integrating the assessment of nutritional value into the LCA methodology. Instead, a diverse range of approaches has emerged that provide different perspectives on nutritional value in the context of LCA of food systems. It can therefore be difficult to identify where trade-offs exist between different life cycle-based environmental impacts (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions and water use), and the contribution of different foods to human nutrition. To address this challenge, FAO embarked on an action-research project in May 2021. The project brought together an international team of thirty LCA and nutrition researchers who developed a state-of-the-art review to improve the environmental and nutritional Life Cycle Assessment (nLCA) methodology. The group identified the key LCA methodology limitations that are impeding the ability of food system actors to capture and compare the environmental and nutritional impacts of food items. They developed best practice recommendations for an integrated nLCA to measure and compare these impacts, and defined future research needs. -
Book (stand-alone)Greenhouse gas emissions from pig and chicken supply chains – A global life cycle assessment
A global life cycle assessment
2013Also available in:
No results found.The livestock sector is one of the fastest growing subsectors of the agricultural economy, and faces several unprecedented and concomitant challenges. The sector needs to respond to the increasing demands for livestock products that are arising from population growth and changing consumer preferences. It also has to adapt to changes in the economic and policy contexts, and in the natural environment upon which production depends. At the same time, it has to improve its environmental performanc e and mitigate its impact on climate. The pig sector is the biggest contributor to global meat production, with 37 percent in 2010. Chicken meat accounts for about 24 percent. Global demand for pig meat, chicken meat and chicken eggs are forecast to grow by 32 percent, 61 percent and 39 percent respectively during the period 2005-2030. If the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions intensities (emission intensity; or the kg of GHG per kg of product) of these commodities are not reduced, the increa ses in production required to meet demand will lead to proportionate increases in GHG emissions. Improving our understanding of where and why emissions arise in livestock supply chains is an important step towards identifying ways to improve efficiency and reduce emissions intensity. This report presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the GHG emissions arising from pig and chicken supply chains. It provides a detailed analysis of emissions according to region, sector and systems of product ion. In addition to informing efforts to reduce GHG emissions, it is hoped that the assessment will also help inform public debate on this important subject. -
Book (stand-alone)Greenhouse gas emissions from ruminant supply chains – A global life cycle assessment
A global life cycle assessment
2013Also available in:
No results found.In decades to come, the global demand for livestock products will continue to increase driven by growing populations, incomes and urbanization. As a consequence the sector needs to produce more but in a context of increasing natural resource scarcity and challenges posed by climate change. In 2010, the ruminant sector contributed about 29 percent to global meat production (equivalent to 81 million tonnes) of which 79 percent is from the cattle sector and the remaining from buffalo and small ruminants. Global milk production in 2010 was 717 million tonnes with milk production from the cattle sector contributing the bulk, about 83 percent of global production. While ruminants play an important role in providing high quality protein essential for human diets, they are an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The demand for bovine meat, mutton and milk is forecasted to grow at a rate of 1.2 percent, 1.5 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively, during the period 2006-205 0. To avoid significant increases in total GHG emissions from the sector, a reduction of the intensity of emissions is required. This report presents a life cycle analysis of the GHG emissions arising from ruminant supply chains around the year 2005. This first comprehensive and disaggregated global assessment of emissions enables the understanding of emission pathways and hotspots. This is a fundamental and initial step to identify mitigation strategies and inform public debate.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
No results found.