Pioneering LCA projects related to nutrition
Food production and consumption is a major driver for Switzerland's environmental impacts
Who hasn't been standing once in front of the supermarket shelf and asked oneself if the organic carrots from Italy or the cauliflower from the own country is the most ecological choice for the next meal, and then, finally, has decided to buy the delicious asparagus from the USA?
Food production and consumption cause about 25%-30% of environmental impacts in Switzerland. The extent of environmental impacts of food consumption depends on various factors. It is not easy for consumers or even for experts to account for these impacts. ESU-services has conducted several projects aiming to facilitate such judgements. For the analysis of food and environmental impacts as a scientific basis for Swiss dietary recommendations, results from several projects have been summarized in one report.
Presenting key results on environmental impacts of food production and consumption
Project examples
- Which Easter bunny is environmentally friendly?
Easter is coming soon, and an increasing selection of Easter sweets can be found in many households. But which chocolate is the most environmentally friendly? The CO2 footprint and the European footprint were calculated for an LCA case study of 100 g Easter bunnies made of dark, white, or milk chocolate. The Easter bunnies made
- LCA of vegetarian protein sources
So far, many LCA studies investigated the importance of meat in diets. But, LCA studies or data for alternatives were so far not available in Switzerland. This study investigates the environmental impacts of meals and food products with proteins from plants or fungi (sunflower seeds, almonds, mushrooms, dried soybeans, dried chickpeas, dried lentils, canned chickpeas,
- Ecoprofile of Food styles
This study compares the environmental impact of food consumption scenarios, per person and year. Different food consumption scenarios (average, vegan, vegetarian, protein, etc.) are analysed in a life cycle assessment. The analysis includes the full life cycle of the food products until they are purchased in the supermarket. The study was commissioned by the WWF
- Environmentally friendly and healthy diets
Dietary recommendations guide consumer and teachers on food choices. Nutrition has an impact on human health and the natural environment. Its share of the environmental impact of Swiss final consumption is 20-25%. This depends on the impact assessment method. This environmental damage affects human health. For example, periods of heat in summer lead to deaths
- PROFUTURE: optimization of protein-rich micro algae
With the global population expected to grow further, there is a need to find alternative protein sources that can meet future demands for food and protein sustainably. Microalgae have emerged as one of the most promising candidates to address this challenge. However, for the microalgae industry to become more sustainable and competitive, it is crucial
- EU research for sustainable milk processing
Industrial food production serves to satisfy basic human needs. The dairy industry accounts with 13% turnover for the total food and drink industry in Europe. The aim of the project SUSMILK was to initialize a change within the process chain for market milk and milk products to minimize energy and water consumption and establish the
- Data collection in food supply chains
ESU-services is a member of the SENSE consortium involving 23 partners from 13 countries. SENSE is a European research project supported by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission. It was launched in February 2012 and will last for three years. The aim of the SENSE project is to deliver a harmonised system for
- LCA case study on environmentally friendly meals in canteens
Ascertained measures for an environmental friendly nutrition have been developed by ESU for the SV Group AG who manages about 300 canteens. In a first step, the total environmental impacts of their whole purchases of food products were calculated. This assessment shows that meat products, air-transported products and vegetables grown in heated greenhouses cause an
- LCA of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
Vegan drinks and whole milk Paula Wenzel investigated "The environmental impact of vegan drinks compared to whole milk" during an internship at ESU-services Ltd. She compared drinks made from oat, soy, rice and almonds with cow milk in 2017. Enology and ecology "Enology and ecology" is the theme of a presentation by Niels Jungbluth for
- Comparative LCA of tap water and mineral water
Drinking water is a basic necessity. We should drink at least two litres a day. But how can we satisfy this basic need in a manner that is as environmentally friendly as possible? What contribution can tap water make in this context? In various studies, ESU-services has compared the environmental impact of tap and bottled
- Eco-friendly meals in canteens and restaurants
ESU-services investigated several types of meals provided at home, in restaurants or canteens from an environmental point of view. The life cycle assessment of meals helps also to better understand the reduction potentials for environmental impacts due to organic products or vegetarian diet better than the comparison of single food items. The environmental impacts of
- Environmental impacts of cooking recipes
The SGE (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Ernährung) has published in their nutrition journal Tabula several recipes for meals which also include information on health aspects and environmental impacts. The recipes themselves are developed by Betty Bossi or Gorilla. ESU-services analysing the environmental impacts per portion. Published recipes (german and french available): Fish soup Capuns Cheese cake
- Integrating food waste in LCA of nutrition
A considerable amount of food waste is caused in households due to bad storage, poor planning and consumer’s preference for fresh food. The industrial processes used to prepare ready-meals on the other hand are, for the most part, highly optimized and food waste due to bad handling is minimal. This leads to the question whether
- Indicators for monitoring environmental impacts of food consumption
The environmental impacts of food consumption patterns vary from country to country and depend on many different influence factors. ESU-services has prepared an overview of different methods for the OECD Environment Directorate, Project on Sustainable Consumption, that can be used to evaluate these impacts. Here we identified possible indicators for monitoring the impacts of food
- LCA of organic agriculture and food products
Within this project ESU-services investigates organic and conventional production of milk, dairy products, beef and bread products. The LCA case studies will be used to test the newly developed impact assessment methods on biodiversity and soil quality. Project funded by Coop (Food Retailer) and Federal Office for the environment. It is elaborated in cooperation with
Further information
- All our Publications related to food
- Analysis of food and environmental impacts as a scientific basis for Swiss dietary recommendations
- LCA database for food production and consumption. Description with detailed information about contents and prices of data sets for sale
- Ph. d. thesis of Niels Jungbluth
- Articles and broadcasts in media
