Estimation of Greenhouse Gases Emissions Based on the Amount of Treatment on Fresh Produce and its Yearly Variation in Nagoya City

Abstract

Objective. It is recommended to reduce the greenhouse gases (GHG) for good environment action even when we buy fresh produce. The objective of this research is to calculate the amount of GHG emissions from fresh produce arriving in Nagoya City and also to analyze yearly variation in five years. Results and Discussion. We calculated the amount of GHG emissions about the level of production and transportation for 37 items(fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood) based on the amount of treatment in Nagoya Central Wholesale Market during 2008 ～ 2012. As a result, the amount of GHG emissions about the production level of the fruits and vegetables which was cultivated with heat was larger than that of the others and correlative to the amount of treatment. The GHG emissions from transportation process of the items that were transported from a distant place such as the Hokkaido or Tohoku regions were higher than those from the others. The annual amount of GHG emissions varied in response to annual national production or catch, and it was decreased over time for many items. Conclusions. The current work showed the amount of GHG emission of fresh produce in the level of production and transportation was vary greatly by heated cultivation or unheated cultivation and also the distance of transportation. It also showed the amount of GHG emission about many fresh produce is reducing over time.