Carbon footprints of Indian food items

ABSTRACT:Cocoa is an important commercial crop in the tropics; and estimating the carbon emissions in the producing-areas is a worthwhile effort. The main goal of the current paper was to evaluate the carbon footprint (CF) per kilogram of Colombian cocoa bean produced under conventional and agroforestry managements, following the methods proposed by PAS 2050. In this research, we compared our results to other worldwide researches, showing an overview of the current limitations and challenges involving the CF researches. Our results showed that all calculated environmental burdens were lower for the conventional management. In the agroforestry practice, composting of cocoa pod husks contributed with approximately 34.00E+00 g methane and 2.55E+00 g nitrous oxide emissions per kilogram of cocoa grain produced. Therefore, such practice could reduce CF by 6.00E+00 kg CO 2 Eq kg -1 , which is certainly a significant amount. These cocoa residues left on the ground have a strong impact on CF of both studied managements due to the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter, which represents more than 85% of emissions. We concluded that both evaluated production processes can emit environmental burdens at the same magnitude. Definitely, there is a widespread need to improve cocoa production system by changing old and less productive plants to the so called clones to ensure cocoa yield and quality worldwide. KEYWORDS:Carbon footprint, climate changes, global warming potential, Theobroma cacao L. PEGADA DE CARBONO DA PRODUÇÃO DE CACAU COLOMBIANORESUMO: O cacau é uma importante cultura comercial nos trópicos e estimar as emissões de carbono para áreas de melhoria de segmentação é um esforço que vale a pena. Portanto, o principal objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a pegada de carbono (CF) de grãos de cacau colombianos por kg utilizando a metodologia por PAS 2050. Nesta pesquisa, discutiram-se os resultados e apresentou-se uma visão geral das limitações percebidas e dos desafios atuais de pesquisa CF. Os resultados mostram que todas as cargas foram calculadas e encontram-se rebaixadas para a tecnologia convencional. A compostagem contribuiu com aproximadamente 34.00E + 00 g de metano e 2.55E + 00 g de óxido nitroso por quilograma de cacau. Assim, esta prática é capaz de reduzir o CF por 6.00E + 00 kg CO2 eq kg-1, que é certamente significativo. Resíduos deixados no solo, como é o caso da casca de cacau, têm um forte impacto sobre a CF de ambas as tecnologias estudadas devido à decomposição anaeróbia da matéria orgânica, o que representa mais de 85% das emissões. Pode-se concluir que o processo de produção selecionado pode emitir cargas ambientais com a mesma ordem de grandeza, utilizando-se das duas abordagens tecnológicas diferentes, vulgarmente utilizadas neste campo. Então, definitivamente, não é uma necessidade generalizada para promover a modernização da produção de cacau por uma transição em que as velhas e menos produtivas plantas são substituídas pelos chamados clones, a fim de garantir a produtividade do cacau m...

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“…This fact is supported by PATHAK et al, 2010, who stated that changes in eating habits could improve GHG mitigation.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 52%

Carbon footprint of the colombian cocoa production

et al. 2016

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“…Hence, they could not address effectively the diet-related preferences. Pathak et al (2010) calculated the carbon footprints of Indian food items, taking into account cultivation of crops, processing, transportation, and kitchen preparations. The average emission factors they used did not address CH 4 emissions from non-rice crops, different management conditions, and changes in soil carbon.…”

Section: Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Footprint Estimation in the Agriculture Sector

Pandey

Agrawal

2014

EcoProduction

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The term ''carbon footprint'' has evolved as an important expression of greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity for diverse activities and products. Widespread public acceptance and the ease of conveying information about GHG intensity with this term has also attracted scientists and policy makers to review and refine its calculations. Standard methods for carbon footprinting have been prepared, and sector-specific standards are under development. These standards direct the procedures to carry out carbon footprinting through life cycle assessment in conjunction with GHG accounting, classifes activities into three tiers based on the order of emissions. Agriculture is the largest contributor to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, so the quantification of different agricultural practices is essential for identification of more sustainable practices. Carbon footprinting has potential as a tool for assessing and comparing GHG performances of different agricultural products along with identification of points to improve environmental efficiencies. Case studies on the application of carbon footprinting to cultivation practices are increasing in the scientific literature, but the majority of studies do not comply with the standard three-tier methodology. This leads to nonuniformity among different studies and their comparisons. Hence, a standard guideline addressing carbon footprinting specifically for agriculture is essential for the effective application of this tool in the quantification of GHG intensity, mitigation of global warming, and adaptation against future climate change scenarios.

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“…In this context, it is argued that reducing animal protein consumption can bring down GHGs emission. Pathak et al (2010) evaluated GHGs emission from 24 Indian food items and observed that animal food products and rice cultivation mostly contributed to methane emission, food products from crops contributed to emission of nitrous oxide while farm operations, production of farm inputs, transport, processing and preparation of food contributed to the emission of carbon dioxide. They showed that animal products such as meat and milk have higher emission than crop products such as chapatti and vegetables.…”

Section: Greenhouse Gas Emission and Food Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greenhouse Gas Emission fromIndian Agriculture: Trends, Drivers and Mitigation Strategies

Pathak¹

2015

Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy

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Climate change, caused by the increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, has emerged as the most prominent environmental issue all over the world. It will have a considerable impact on agriculture including crops, livestock and fisheries. Agriculture, crucial for ensuring food, nutritional and livelihood security of India, is exposed to the stresses arising from climatic variability and climate change. Agriculture sector is also a major contributor to the enhanced greenhouse effect with the emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Indian agricultural sector emitted about 420 Mt of CO 2 eq. during 2010. Enteric fermentation contributed 56% of the emission followed by agricultural soil (23%) and rice fields (18%). On-farm burning of crop residues and manure management contributed 2% and 1% of the emission, respectively. During 1970-2010, the GHGs emission from Indian agriculture has increased by about 75%. The increasing use of fertilizers and other agri-inputs and the rising population of livestock are the major drivers for this increase in GHGs emission. The relative contribution of Indian agriculture to the total GHGs emission from all the sectors of the country, however, has decreased from 33% in 1970 to 18% in 2010. Mitigation of GHGs emission from agriculture can be achieved by sequestering C and reducing the emissions of methane and nitrous oxide through changes in land-use management and enhancing input-use efficiency. A win-win solution would be to develop such mitigation strategies that help in climate change adaptation and promote sustainable agricultural development.

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Carbon footprints of Indian food items

Cited by 187 publications

References 11 publications

Carbon footprint of the colombian cocoa production

Carbon footprint of the colombian cocoa production

Carbon Footprint Estimation in the Agriculture Sector

Greenhouse Gas Emission fromIndian Agriculture: Trends, Drivers and Mitigation Strategies

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