The carbon footprint of bread

Espinoza‐Orias, Namy; Stichnothe, Heinz; Azapagic, Adisa

doi:10.1007/s11367-011-0271-0

Cited by 99 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The production process involves wheat grinding and baking; both processing stages can occur in small scale (artisan) or large scale (industrial) plants. Apart from the difference in scale (amount of raw material and end-product handled and delivered) the artisan production systems normally differ from the industrial ones for technology and environmental impact (Espinoza-Orias et al, 2011;Andersson and Ohlsson, 1999;Mondal and Datta 2008).…”

Section: The Bread Sector In Italymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The global chain searches for integration with wheat suppliers to improve resilience and address socio-ecological risks. Andersson, 2000;Andersson and Ohlsson 1999;Espinoza-Orias et al, 2011;Jury et al 2011;Meisterling et al 2009;Williams et al 2010;Moudrý et al 2013;Yadav and Marshall, 2011;Williams and Wikström 2011;Koskela et al, 2014;Ruini et The column "Differences" expresses high (+++), medium (++), low (+) differences between local and global bread chains much less costly communication strategy occurs, based on the "word of mouth" and direct social relationships. The role of trust between consumers and producer plays here a crucial role, and it is strongly related to the territorial identity of products and processes.…”

Section: Resilience and Local Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainability assessment of food supply chains: an application to local and global bread in Italy

et al. 2015

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Over the 2000s', consumers' food purchases have been increasingly informed by supply chain-related issues, with growing concerns about the sustainability of chains differing for their geographical scope. As a result, short food supply chains and local food systems have risen to policymakers and food chain stakeholders' attention as more sustainable alternatives to mainstream food networks. However, associating food chain's geographical scope and sustainability performance may not be straightforward. This paper aims at shedding lights on the connection between geographical scope and sustainability by comparing and discussing 19 attributes owing to different sustainability dimensions. The analysis anchors on the wheat-to-bread chain, due to its global relevance. Bread is a worldwide staple food and wheat is (generally) a commodity traded globally. However, wheat processing often occurs locally and baking is influenced by local heritage and consumption patterns, particularly in the EU and in Italy, where gastronomy is culturally embedded. The paper identifies critical aspects and provides a qualitative assessment of the performances of local vs global wheat-to-bread chains. The assessment is carried out on Italian case studies.

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Section: The Bread Sector In Italymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resilience and Local Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability assessment of food supply chains: an application to local and global bread in Italy

et al. 2015

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“…For example, Flysjö's (2011) LCA of butter considers specific food waste rates for the different packaging alternatives it compares. Davis and Sonesson (2008), as well as Espinoza-Orias et al (2011), include food waste in scenarios and discuss the influence of packaging on food waste rates. Packaging LCA literature provides more examples of how to consider food waste in LCA methodology.…”

Section: Discussion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The environmental impact of packaging in food supply chains—does life cycle assessment of food provide the full picture?

Molina-Besch

Wikström

Williams

2018

Int J Life Cycle Assess

122

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Purpose Due to the urgency and the magnitude of the environmental problems caused by food supply chains, it is important that the recommendations for packaging improvements given in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of food rest on a balanced consideration of all relevant environmental impacts of packaging. The purpose of this article is to analyse the extent to which food LCAs include the indirect environmental impact of packaging in parallel to its direct impact. While the direct environmental impact of food packaging is the impact caused by packaging materials' production and end-of-life, its indirect environmental impact is caused by its influence on the food product's life cycle, e.g. by its influence on food waste and on logistical efficiency. Methods The article presents a review of 32 food LCAs published in peer-reviewed scientific journals over the last decade. The steps of the food product's life cycle that contribute to the direct and indirect environmental impacts of packaging provide the overall structure of the analytical framework used for the review. Three aspects in the selected food LCAs were analysed: (1) the defined scope of the LCAs, (2) the sensitivity and/or scenario analyses and (3) the conclusions and recommendations. Results and discussion While in packaging LCA literature, there is a trend towards a more systematic consideration of the indirect environmental impact of packaging, it is unclear how food LCAs handle this aspect. The results of the review show that the choices regarding scope and sensitivities/scenarios made in food LCAs and their conclusions about packaging focus on the direct environmental impact of packaging. While it is clear that not all food LCAs need to analyse packaging in detail, this article identifies opportunities to increase the validity of packaging-related conclusions in food LCAs and provides specific recommendations for packaging-related food LCA methodology. Conclusions Overall, we conclude that the indirect environmental impact of packaging is insufficiently considered in current food LCA practice. Based on these results, this article calls for a more systematic consideration of the indirect environmental impact of packaging in future food LCAs. In addition, it identifies a need for more packaging research that can provide the empirical data that many food LCA practitioners currently lack. In particular, LCA practitioners would benefit if there were more knowledge and data available about the influence of certain packaging characteristics (e.g. shape, weight and type of material) on consumer behaviour.

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“…Type B studies compare alternative consumption choices such as products or full meals (e.g., a traditional burger versus a vegetarian one, or a seasonal versus a non-seasonal raspberry, see [71] and [90]). As products are analysed at consumption stage the system boundaries are usually from cradle to plate including the distribution and retail stages, and in some cases from cradle to grave, including the end-of-life stage (household waste management) and the functional unit is usually mass based (e.g., 800 g of sliced bread at consumption stage [116]). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As products are analysed at consumption stage the system boundaries are usually from cradle to plate including the distribution and retail stages, and in some cases from cradle to grave, including the end-of-life stage (household waste management) and the functional unit is usually mass based (e.g., 800 g of sliced bread at consumption stage [116]). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Overcoming Food Security Challenges within an Energy/Water/Food Nexus (EWFN) Approach

2016

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Abstract:The challenge of feeding nine billion people by 2050, in a context of constrained resources and growing environmental pressures posed by current food production methods on one side, and changing lifestyles and consequent shifts in dietary patterns on the other, exacerbated by the effects of climate change, has been defined as one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. The first step to achieve food security is to find a balance between the growing demand for food, and the limited production capacity. In order to do this three main pathways have been identified: employing sustainable production methods in agriculture, changing diets, and reducing waste in all stages of the food chain. The application of an energy, water and food nexus (EWFN) approach, which takes into account the interactions and connections between these three resources, and the synergies and trade-offs that arise from the way they are managed, is a prerequisite for the correct application of these pathways. This work discusses how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) might be applicable for creating the evidence-base to foster such desired shifts in food production and consumption patterns.

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The carbon footprint of bread

Cited by 99 publications

References 8 publications

Sustainability assessment of food supply chains: an application to local and global bread in Italy

Sustainability assessment of food supply chains: an application to local and global bread in Italy

The environmental impact of packaging in food supply chains—does life cycle assessment of food provide the full picture?

Overcoming Food Security Challenges within an Energy/Water/Food Nexus (EWFN) Approach

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