Differences in carbon footprint of food consumption patterns
JIANG Lu1, WANG Rui1, LIU Bei-bei1,2
1. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control & Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; 2. The Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies, Nanjing 210093, China
Abstract：To analyze the carbon footprints of different food consumption patterns, taking dumplings as study objects, a life cycle assessment (LCA) from “cradle to table” was used to evaluate the carbon footprint of four consumption patterns, namely, home-made, frozen retail, chain-store operation and individual operation. The carbon footprints of transportation, storage, processing, packaging, distribution sectors were estimated. Results showed that, the carbon footprints of different dumplings’ consumption patterns increase in sequence from homemade(1.85, kg CO2eq/kg, the same below), chain-store operation (intra-city) (1.86), chain-store operation (cross-city) (1.89), frozen retail (1.96), individual operation (1.96), to chain-store operation (cross-province) (1.97). The carbon footprint of transportation sector varied widely (2.13%~7.80%), with the frozen retail pattern reaching the highest, while the chain-store operation pattern being the lowest when central kitchens for centralized distribution were reasonably well established. The study also explored the discrepancy in the carbon footprints of food waste and loss across different consumption patterns. It is suggested that establishing regional central kitchens and distribution centres, optimizing transportation routes, and reducing food loss and waste throughout the entire process will be key points to reduce carbon emissions in the residential food consumption system.
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