Life cycle analysis | TableDebates

Energy use in the EU food sector: state of play and opportunities for improvement – Joint Research Centre Science and Policy Report

This report summarises research from scientific, policy and industrial experiences on energy use in the EU food sector. It acknowledges that while the EU has made progress in incorporating renewable energy across the economy, the share of renewables in the food system remains relatively small. The report discusses the way ahead and highlights the main challenges to be faced in decreasing energy use and in increasing the renewable energy share in the food sector.

First report from IPES-Food: Who shapes food systems, and who has a say in how they are reformed?

This report was produced by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, IPES-Food -a new transdisciplinary initiative to support, inform and advise the policy debate on how to reform food systems across the world.

Life cycle assessment of tap water: Analysis and comparison with other beverages

The report Life cycle assessment of tap water: Analysis and comparison with other beverages traces the entire life cycle from water catchment/extraction to serving it up in a glass. The report compares tap water with mineral water and other beverages and shows (unsurprisingly) that from an environmental point of view, tap water is preferable to bottled water and all other beverages. The report was produced by ESU Services – a sustainability consulting firm and commissioned by the Swiss Gas and Water Association (SVGW) in 2014.

Two methods for jointly evaluating environmental impact and nutritional content of diets tested in new study on Swedish diets

This paper presents two ways of including environmental and nutritional aspects in the sustainability assessment of diets. Three diets were assessed using these two methods: a diet issued from the National Food Agency as a recommended diet reflecting food preferences in Sweden (SNÖ), a diet corresponding to current average food consumption in Sweden according to the latest food intake survey (Riksmaten) and a Low Carbohydrate-High Fat (LCHF) diet, which is a popular life-style diet in Sweden currently.

New Food and Feed Life cycle analysis (LCA) database available from PE INTERNATIONAL

In December 2014 the Food and Feed LCA database from PE INTERNATIONAL was released. It includes over 350 cradle-to-gate and gate-to-gate LCI datasets representing the most commonly used food and feed products in different geographical regions:

efficiency welfare

Animal efficiencies, animal welfare: either/or, or both/and? Some Reflections from an Informal Meeting

Some reflections from a meeting between food systems researchers where a number of assumptions were challenged, diverse ethical and philosophical questions raised, and some areas that need further exploration and research identified. The purpose of this article is to share our reflections with the FCRN community and to seek out your thoughts and ideas about what sort of research and activity is needed next.

New Food Systems Academy – an open education resource

This website, curated by Geoff Tansey, provides a series of open access online talks, for use by those teaching some aspect of food and farming – but open to anyone to watch. The aim is to provide an overview of the complex and multidisciplinary nature of food systems. Read more about the initiative on their website.

People, Plate and Planet – new report and online tool for sustainable diets

The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) has launched a new report on sustainable diets - People, Plate and Planet, describing dietary choices that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pressures on land. The report considers nutrition, GHG emissions and land use and states that the most significant impact on these areas comes from what we eat, not where it is from or how much packaging there is around it.

Are the Dietary Guidelines for Meat, Fat, Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Appropriate for Environmental Sustainability? A Review of the Literature

This paper provides a review of the current literature analysing environmental impacts of dietary recommendations. The review focuses on three aspects of dietary advice in particular: reducing the consumption of fat, reducing the consumption of meat-based protein and animal-based foods, and finally increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables. It then reviews the environmental impact assessments and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) that have been undertaken in foods that have relevance to these three dietary recommendations.