Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Organic and Conventional Foodstuffs in Austria

The consumer´s choice in quality of foodstuffs can influence GHG-emissions from the food sector. Organic agriculture is discussed as a possible way to reduce GHG-emissions. However the amount of reducing CO2eq per kg of organic products is unclear especially under supermarket conditions. The primary goal of the present study was to compare greenhouse gas emissions (CO2-eq) of organic foodstuffs with conventionally grown ones. All balanced foodstuffs are retail products, processed and marketed by nationwide supermarket companies in Austria

Regionale Bio-Lebensmittel - Bewertung der sozio-ökonomischen Vorteile für die Region aus Sicht der Nachhaltigkeit am Beispiel Frischmilch in Österreich

Regionale Lebensmittel zeichnen sich durch ein hohes Maß an geschlossenen, regionalen Stoff- und Wirtschaftskreisläufe entlang der Wertschöpfungskette (WSK) aus. Sie leisten damit insbesondere auf regionaler Ebene einen Beitrag zur Nachhaltigen Entwicklung und Resilienz. Zur Quantifizierung dieses Beitrags wurde ein Bewertungsmodell entwickelt, welches die Themen regionale Wertschöpfung, regionale und betriebliche Resilienz sowie Produkteigenschaften abdeckt. Bei der Bewertung wird die gesamte Wertschöpfungskette von den landwirtschaftlichen Vorleistungen bis zum point-of-sale mit einbezogen. Das Modell liefert produktbezogene Ergebnisse, die als „regionaler Mehrwert“ bezeichnet werden. Im Folgenden wird das Bewertungsmodell und die damit generierten Ergebnisse am Beispiel Milch vorgestellt

Mass Catering As A Driver For Austrian Organic Agriculture

In Austria, around 1.8 million meals are consumed daily in public and private mass catering facilities. The aims of this study was (1) to show and assess the current status and (2) to calculate the potential of public catering procurement regarding Austrian organic food. The central question was which share of organic food in mass catering would lead to what increase of organic agricultural area in Austria. These growth potentials were calculated with two scenarios: a monetary organic share of 60% and 100% in food procurement. The results show that 4.9% of the total Austrian agricultural area (132,139 ha) is already consumed by public catering facilities in 2017 and thereof 1.3% for organic food. An increased organic share of 100% in terms of monetary procurement in the public catering sector would theoretically lead to an only slight increase in the total utilized agricultural area need for catering food (from 4.9% to 5.3%). Concurrently, this would mean 3.8 times more demand of organic area

Warum Bio dem Klima gut tut

Bio-Produkte verursachen geringere Treibhausgasemissionen als vergleichbare konventionelle Produkte. Dies zeigen die Ergebnisse einer vom FiBL Österreich durchgeführten Studie zur Klimabilanz von mehr als 100 Lebensmitteln

Bio-Tiere schonen unser Klima!

In einer Studie wurden die Auswirkungen auf das Klima einer konventionellen und biologischen Produktion von Milch, Eiern und Hühnerfleisch untersucht. Der Bio-Landbau schnitt dabei deutlich besser ab

Klimavorteile erneut nachgewiesen

Bioprodukte verursachen tatsächlich weniger Treibhausgasemissionen als konventionell erzeugte.Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt eine groß angelegte österreichische Studie. Hauptgründe sind der Verzicht auf Importsoja und leicht lösliche Stickstoffdünger sowie die Speicherung von Kohlenstoff im Humus

Understanding the interrelations between food consumption and the preservation of natural resources in urban food systems

We evaluated the environmental sustainability of local agricultural production within two urban food systems comprising two medium-sized cities in Southern Germany by considering the susceptibility of the local ecosystem and compared supply from local agriculture under different production intensities with demand in the two cities. We took the nitrogen (N) surplus target per hectare of agricultural land from the German Sustainable Development Strategy, which builds on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as a measure for ecosystem carrying capacity to derive a scenario for a site-adapted local agricultural production intensity. Using life cycle assessment, we calculated environmental impacts for the prevalent commodities produced within agriculture surrounding the cities of the studied urban food systems. Impacts were related to kg of protein from the overall agricultural output. Further we related protein supply from local agriculture within the urban food systems under the different production intensities to protein demand in the cities based on available consumption data. Adopting local agricultural production intensity towards the N surplus target within the defined regions around the cities substantially reduced environmental impacts per kg of protein from local agriculture for all impact categories compared to the present production intensity. Under a siteadapted production intensity local agriculture would still be able to supply protein demand in the cities of the urban food systems. However, a shift from an animal protein-based to a more plant protein-based diet would be required to make the urban food systems overall more sustainable

Climate balance of organic and conventional foodstuffs compared

In the discussion regarding the climate-relevance of foodstuffs, the terms regionalism and non-regionalism are often at the center of public debate. Hereby the often much higher CO2-emissions which are generated in agriculture and its inputs as well as in foodstuff processing are regularly neglected. It is also the case that many CO2-balances do not pay due attention – or just do not incorporate - land use change or the climate specific advantages of organic farming. Every foodstuff causes greenhouse gas emissions (CO2-eq), during production and processing, which contribute toward global warming. A broad study conducted by FiBL Austria – for the organic brand „Zurück zum Ursprung“of the supermarket chain Hofer/Aldi Süd, investigated the CO2-emissions of organic products and compared these with similar conventional products. In this process the value chain, from agriculture - including its inputs (i.e. the production of fertilizer) - to the supermarket shelf, was taken into account. 95 foodstuffs from organic and conventional agriculture respectively, were subject to comprehensive CO2-balancing. On the basis of the CO2-savings ascertained, a CO2-label has been established, which placed on the packaging of every „Zurück zum Ursprung“-product, makes the climate advantages apparent