Assessing the ecological soundness of organic and conventional agriculture by means of life cycle assessment (LCA)

Abstract

Purpose: The present study aims to explore and compare consumer perception and scientific evidence related to food quality and food safety aspects of organic versus conventional vegetables.Design/methodology/approach: Primary data on consumer perception were gathered in 2006-2007 through a consumer survey with Flemish adults (n = 529) and compared with scientific evidence from literature. Consumers of organic and conventional vegetables were selected by means of a convenience sampling procedure. Subjects were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire concerning the perception of the nutritional and toxicological value of organic relative to conventional vegetables. Data processing and analysis included descriptive analysis (frequency distributions), data reduction (Cronbach's alpha test, factor analysis), bivariate analysis (correlations, t-test, ANOVA) and multivariate analysis (stepwise multiple regression). Findings:Organic vegetables are perceived as containing less contaminants and more nutrients, and as such, as being healthier and safer compared to conventional vegetables. However, not enough evidence is currently available in literature to support or refute such perception, indicating a certain mismatch between consumer perception and scientific evidence. The gap between perception and evidence is larger among older consumers with children. The perception is stronger when the consumption frequency is higher, but is independent of gender, place of residence (rural or urban), education and income level. Also non-users on average perceive that organic vegetables have a nutritional and toxicological advantage over conventional vegetables. Research limitations/implications:A non-probability convenience sampling method was applied, what limits generalisation of the findings beyond the sample characteristics. Originality/value: This paper is original in comparing consumer perception and scientific facts related to both nutritional and safety aspects of organic versus conventional vegetables.

Influence of Management Practices on Economic and Environmental Performance of Crops. A Case Study in Spanish Horticulture

“…Table 3 and Table 4 present the average values obtained for each impact category referred to the two functional units used in the study, 1 kg tigernuts and 1 ha, respectively. Unlike the results of previous studies (Backer et al, 2009;Martinez Blanco et al, 2010), no differences can be detected between the average results referred to the two functional units. This is due to the fact that the differences in the yield obtained by the two farming systems are not significant, as commented on section 3.1.…”

“…LCA methodology has proved to be a valuable tool for the environmental evaluation of farming systems. Some agricultural LCA studies have assessed specific agricultural production systems (Sanjuán et al, 2005;Blengini and Busto, 2009;McDevitt and Milà i Canals, 2011); others have compared systems, such as conventional versus organic farming (Meisterling et al, 2008;Backer et al, 2009; Van der Werf et al, 2009;Venkat, 2012). Every one of those studies has addressed the differences between the farming systems regarding environmental impacts.…”

The Carbon and Global Warming Potential Impacts of Organic Farming: Does It Have a Significant Role in an Energy Constrained World?

“…De Bakker et al [84], examining leeks in Belgium in a full LCA analysis, concluded -that the total climate change indicator score, Global Warming Potential, GWP100 is 0.094 kg CO 2 -equivalents/kg leek for the conventional system and 0.044 kg CO 2 -equivalents/kg leek for the organic system, revealing conventional leek production to have a substantially higher impact on climate change. The GWP depends mainly on the use of fossil fuels for on farm activities, energy use for the production of inputs and emissions of N 2 O connected to the on-farm nitrogen cycle.‖ Diesel use kg -1 leek was actually higher in organic, but the on-farm nitrogen cycle and synthetic fertilizer use in the conventional system had a larger impact than fossil fuel use.…”

Environmental Impact and Nutritional Improvement of Elevated CO2 Treatment: A Case Study of Spinach Production

“…LCA has been used since the end of the 1990s to assess the environmental impact of single crop cultivation, and has shifted to various agriculture sectors: animal production, horticulture, organic farming, etc. [1][2][3]. In Europe, it is promoted to certify environmentally-assessed products, and EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) was introduced to reduce the environmental burden of production.…”