Differences in carbon footprint of food consumption patterns

JIANG Lu; WANG Rui; LIU Bei-bei

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China Environmental Science ›› 2023, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (12) : 6755-6762.

Environmental Impact Assessment and Management

Differences in carbon footprint of food consumption patterns

JIANG Lu¹, WANG Rui¹, LIU Bei-bei^1,2

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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.

Key words

carbon footprint / food loss and waste / food systems / life cycle assessment (LCA)

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JIANG Lu, WANG Rui, LIU Bei-bei. Differences in carbon footprint of food consumption patterns[J]. China Environmental Science. 2023, 43(12): 6755-6762

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