ASSOCIATION OF APPLIED BIOLOGISTS
ASPECTS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY 86
Greening the Food Chain, 1 and 2
at the Society of Chemical Industry HQ,
Belgrave Square, London
on 14 December 2007 and 6 February 2008, respectively
Produced by the Association of Applied Biologists
Copies available from: The AAB Office
The Warwick Enterprise Park, Wellesbourne,
Warwick CV35 9EF, UK
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of Applied Biologists, is:
Aspects of Applied Biology 86, Greening the Food Chain 1 and 2, pp. xxx–xxx.. .
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Printed in UK
Published by the Association of Applied Biologists
The Warwick Enterprise Park, Wellesbourne, Warwick CV35 9EF, UK
© 2008 The Association of Applied Biologists
ISSN 0265-1491
*Full reference: Aspects of Applied Biology 86, Greening the Food Chain 1 and 2, published
by the Association of Applied Biologists, The Warwick Enterprise Park, Wellesbourne, Warwick
CV35 9EF, UK.
iii
Greening the Food Chain, 1 and 2
Includes papers from the workshops
What does “green” mean? Seeking to understand and meet conflicting
aspirations for food
Measuring “green” – does Life Cycle Analysis make sense for food?
INTRODUCTION
Aspects of Applied Biology 86 contains a number of papers given as oral presentations and posters
along with the record of discussions taking place at two workshops: What does “green” mean?
Seeking to understand and meet conflicting aspirations for food held on 14th December 2007 and
Measuring “green” – does Life Cycle Analysis make sense for food? held on 6th February 2008.
Production of these proceedings has been supported by Defra.
Food quality is a major factor affecting consumers’ food purchasing decisions alongside price
and convenience. Freshness, taste and nutritional value are the attributes most often prioritised
by consumers. Recent consumer interest in foods produced in more locally or in environmentally
friendly ways may result from the higher level of reflection and risk consciousness associated with
modern society. Increasing demand for organic food and rejection of genetic modification may also
indicate that a significant group of consumers are concerned with environmental impacts. Creating
markets for food requires an understanding of how to map and meet consumer expectations. While
the consumer and market dimensions of quality are widely recognised, processors and retailers
often focus on those aspects of quality that improve efficiency and profitability during processing,
transport and retail. Consequently there may be an incomplete match between consumer perceptions
of quality and those within the food chain.
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is one tool which might be used to measure the
environmental impact of a food chain. Given the complexity of modern farming systems and
technologies and their potentially diverse environmental impacts, it is important that robust,
integrated, holistic and systematic methods are available to support decision making on technology
choice and related policies. LCA is a technique for assessing the environmental aspects and
potential impacts associated with a product, service or process. Critically, LCA can facilitate the
assembly and transparent presentation of objectively verifiable information and the participation
of key stakeholders in the appraisal process, an important dimension of sustainable development.
However, there is a need to robustly examine the assumption inherent in the application of these
methodologies in the food chain and to examine whether alternative approaches might give equally
valuable information about environmental impacts.
Elizabeth Stockdale
Convenor AAB Cropping and the Environment Group
E-mail: [email protected]
iv
CONTENTS
Page
What does green mean? A consideration of the key characteristics of a range of food
types. Report of a Discussion Session
Greening the Food Chain. The Consumer’s Story
M BRENNAN
Is growing ethical food demand driving a genuine ‘greener’ supply?
W P DAVIES & R N BAINES
1–3
5–12
13–20
Understanding and meeting conflicting aspirations for green food – progress to date
and challenges for the future
Report of a Discussion Session
21–22
Where do farming systems and Life Cycle Assessment meet?
R L WALKER, C A WATSON & N LAMPKIN
23–28
SALCA – a standardised LCA tool to assess the environmental impacts of
agriculture
GERARD GAILLARD, THOMAS NEMECEK, RUTH FREIRMUTZ KNUCHEL &
MARTINA ALIG
29–30
Some methodological issues in the life cycle assessment of food systems: reference
systems, land use emissions and allocation
M BRANDÃO
31–40
A systems modelling approach to Life Cycle Inventories of agricultural and
horticultural production
A G WILLIAMS & E AUDSLEY
41–48
Eco-design of plant varieties for sustainable consumption; problems and perspectives
of LCA guided plant breeding
J E McDEVITT
49–54
The carbon dioxide emission footprint of food products and their application in the
food system
W MARTINDALE, R McGLOIN, M JONES & P BARLOW
55–60
The environmental footprint: A method to determine the environmental impact of
agricultural production
R LILLYWHITE
61–68
Food and beverage carbon dioxide emissions from producer to consumer - applying
and communicating LCA
W MARTINDALE & P RICHARDSON
69–74
Life Cycle Analysis for food and agricultural products. Strengths and weaknesses
Report of a Discussion Session
75–76
Life Cycle Analysis for food and agricultural products. Can we achieve a standard
approach? Report of a workshop discussion session
77–78
Life Cycle Analysis for food and agricultural products. What are the key issues for
audit? Report of a Workshop Discussion Session
79–80
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