Farmers or consumers may ask about the environmental implications when choosing organic products. Is it sustainable to buy organic products from China or South America? How much does the long-distance transport affect the climate and carbon footprint of the products? And does the organic production in the countries concerned benefit the environment? These are some of the questions raised – and the point of departure for a recently finalized PhD study

Abreu, Lucimar Santiago de

Almeida, Gustavo Fonseca de

Halberg, Niels

Hui, Qiao Yu

Knudsen, Marie Trydeman

Langer, Vibeke

Yan, Luo

English

KNUDSEN, M. T.

YU-HUI, Q.

YAN, L.

ABREU, L. S. de

HALBERG, N.

LANGER, V.

RCAAP - Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal

Transport is important in the carbon footprint of imported organic plant products.

Organic Eprints

2/2011 4ArticleOrganic apples from Argentina, organic peppers from Israel and organic orange juice from Brazil – these are some of the pro-ducts you will find in your local supermarket when you are considering what to buy. The organic produ-cts on shelf are not always produced in Denmark but imported from all over the world. Actually, the import of organic products to Den-mark has seen a four to five fold increase since 2003. The increased import of organic products is not only visible in the supermarket.  Many organic farmers also feed their cattle with organic soybean from China or Italy. Import of organic  products to DenmarkOrganic soybeans from China and organic orange juice from Brazil was chosen as relevant case studies from the many organic pro-ducts imported to Denmark. Figure 1 illustrates examples of organic products im-ported to Denmark.  China has seen a rapid development in the or-ganic sector – and repre-sents along with Brazil the country that has the largest export from Asia and South America, respectively. The extraordinary growth in the major organic markets in Europe and North America offers promising export opportunities – and China and Brazil represents some of the countries with the largest areas grown organi-cally.Life cycle assessment of soybean and orange juiceWe used Life Cycle As-sessment (LCA) as a tool Transport is important in the carbon footprint of imported organic  plant productsBy: Marie Trydeman Knudsen, Aarhus University, Denmark, Qiao Yu Hui and Luo Yan, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; Gustavo Fonseca de Almeida, Aarhus University, Denmark; Lucimar Santiago de Abreu, EMBRAPA Environment, Brazil, Niels Halberg, ICROFS, Denmark and Vibeke Langer, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.Farmers or consumers may ask about the environ-mental implications when choosing organic pro-ducts from afar. Is it sustainable to buy organic products from China or South America? How much does the long-distance transport affect the climate and carbon footprint of the products? And does the organic production in the countries concerned benefit the environment? These are some of the questions raised – and the point of departure for a recently finalized PhD study.Figure 1. Examples of organic products im-ported to Denmark.2/2011 5Articleto calculate e.g. how much transport matters, with regard to climate and en-vironment, when organic soybeans are imported from China to Denmark. Life Cycle Assessment include all the relevant environmental impacts from the product chain – from the production of fertilizer and other inputs, over the emissions at the farm to the product ends up in the supermarket. Finally, the environmental impact per kg product can be calcu-lated, which for global war-ming is expressed in kg CO2 equivalents per kg soybe-ans or orange juice. CO2 equivalents are the sum of the climate gasses CO2, N2O and CH4 where the gasses are weighted according to their effect on the climate in the atmosphere in relation to CO2. We surveyed a number of organic and conventional farms in Jilin, China (soybe-ans) and São Paulo, Brazil (oranges) and followed the product chains to Denmark. Inputs, outputs and emissi-ons were inventoried on the farms and in the processing and transport. Details can be found in publications on OrganicEprints (Knudsen et al. (2010), http://orgprints.org/17327/ & Knudsen et al. (2011), http://orgprints.org/18417/).Transport is responsible for half of the carbon foot-print valueThe results show that half of the carbon footprint from organic soybean from China was related to transport (see Figure 2).  Approximately the same was found for the orange juice from Brazil.This finding is in agre-ement with English studies which showed that transport accounted for approx. 40-70% of the carbon footprint of imported plant products transported by ship and/or truck. For meat products though, transport does not account for a great share (max. 20%) since the total carbon footprint of meat are much higher than for plant products. However, the absolute contribution from transport is of course the same. Figure 3 provides an overview of examples of greenhouse gas contribu-tions from transport when agricultural products are imported from different countries in the world – counted as kg CO2 equiva-lents per kg product.Interestingly, the results show that the same or even more CO2, is emitted when products are transported by truck from Southern Europe Figure 2. Greenhouse gas emissions from 1 ton of soybeans produced in the Jilin Province in China and transported to the harbor of Aarhus in Denmark (global warming potential (kg CO2 eq. ton soybeans per year).2/2011 6Articleas compared to transport from South America by ship. In the total carbon footprint of the product, this contribution from transport should be added to the greenhouse gas emis-sions from the production. The emissions from the agricultural production can vary depending on whether it is outdoor production with few inputs or produc-tion in heated greenhouses, which has a much higher climate impact.Difference between organic and conventional soybeanWhen we focus on the environmental effects of the farming systems, the re-sults show that the organic soybean produced in the case study area in China has a lower environmental im-pact than the conventional with regard to greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient enrichment and use of non-renewable energy. Brazilian orange juiceThe results from the Bra-zilian orange juice are not as straight forward. In the study, small-scale organic and conventional orange plantations were compared. The main differences were the absence of pesticides and higher crop diversity at the small-scale organic farms. Furthermore, the small-scale organic farms were compared to the large-scale organic orange plantations. The results showed that the large-scale organic plan-tations had higher green-house gas emissions, cobber use (towards plant diseases), nutrient enrichment and Figure 3. Greenhouse gas emissions from transport (kg CO2 equivalents per kg product) when products are imported to Denmark from selected countries by truck and/or ship. It is assumed that road transport takes place in 40t trucks and pro-ducts transported by ship are reloaded into trucks in Rotterdam Harbor.2/2011 7Article ArticleMore informationRead more in the PhD disserta-tion: ”Environmental assessment of imported organic products : Focusing on orange juice from Brazil and soybeans from China” 2011. lower crop diversity per hectare compared to the small-scale organic farms. The same tendency was visi-ble when the environmental impacts were accounted per kg orange. These observations sug-gest that there is a need for more focus on how different certified organic produ-ctions comply with the organic ideas and principles. There might also be a need for scrutinizing the organic regulations with regard to regulating especially green-house gas emissions and biodiversity.In the carbon footprint calculations of agricultu-ral products, soil carbon changes have not traditio-nally been included in many previous studies. Results of this study in-dicate that the difference in carbon footprints of orga-nic and conventional plant products was widened when soil carbon changes was included in the calculations. Remember other contri-butions to climate change and other sustainability aspectsIn the debate, of how much transport matters when importing organic products, it is important as a consu-mer to be aware of other food related contributions to climate change that can be reduced, such as reducing food waste, minimizing un-necessary shopping related transport in cars etc.Furthermore, it is im-portant to be aware that sustainability deals with many other aspects than climate, such as biodiversity, nutrient enrichment and socioeconomic issues. As a consumer, the choice of which organic products to buy is also related to impact of the agricultural produc-tion in the country concer-ned – both environmentally and socioeconomically. 

de Almeida, Gustavo Fonseca

Santiago de Abreu, Lucimar

Copenhagen University Research Information System

Transport is important in the carbon footprint of imported organic plant products

Farmers or consumers may ask about the environ- mental implications when choosing organic pro- ducts from afar. Is it sustainable to buy organic products from China or South America? How much does the long-distance transport affect the climate and carbon footprint of the products? And does the organic production in the countries concerned benefit the environment? These are some of the questions raised ? and the point of departure for a recently finalized PhD study

LAReferencia - Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas Latinoamericanas

Repository Open Access to Scientific Information from Embrapa

2/20114ArticleOrganic apples from Argentina, organic peppers from Israel and organic orange juice from Brazil – these are some of the pro-ducts you will find in your local supermarket when you are considering what to buy. The organic produ-cts on shelf are not always produced in Denmark but imported from all over the world. Actually, the import of organic products to Den-mark has seen a four to five fold increase since 2003. The increased import of organic products is not only visible in the supermarket.  Many organic farmers also feed their cattle with organic soybean from China or Italy. Import of organic  products to DenmarkOrganic soybeans from China and organic orange juice from Brazil was chosen as relevant case studies from the many organic pro-ducts imported to Denmark. Figure 1 illustrates examples of organic products im-ported to Denmark.  China has seen a rapid development in the or-ganic sector – and repre-sents along with Brazil the country that has the largest export from Asia and South America, respectively. The extraordinary growth in the major organic markets in Europe and North America offers promising export opportunities – and China and Brazil represents some of the countries with the largest areas grown organi-cally.Life cycle assessment of soybean and orange juiceWe used Life Cycle As-sessment (LCA) as a tool Transport is important in the carbon footprint of imported organic  plant productsBy: Marie Trydeman Knudsen, Aarhus University, Denmark, Qiao Yu Hui and Luo Yan, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; Gustavo Fonseca de Almeida, Aarhus University, Denmark; Lucimar Santiago de Abreu, EMBRAPA Environment, Brazil, Niels Halberg, ICROFS, Denmark and Vibeke Langer, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.Farmers or consumers may ask about the environ-mental implications when choosing organic pro-ducts from afar. Is it sustainable to buy organic products from China or South America? How much does the long-distance transport affect the climate and carbon footprint of the products? And does the organic production in the countries concerned benefit the environment? These are some of the questions raised – and the point of departure for a recently finalized PhD study.Figure 1. Examples of organic products im-ported to Denmark.2/20115Articleto calculate e.g. how much transport matters, with regard to climate and en-vironment, when organic soybeans are imported from China to Denmark. Life Cycle Assessment include all the relevant environmental impacts from the product chain – from the production of fertilizer and other inputs, over the emissions at the farm to the product ends up in the supermarket. Finally, the environmental impact per kg product can be calcu-lated, which for global war-ming is expressed in kg CO2 equivalents per kg soybe-ans or orange juice. CO2 equivalents are the sum of the climate gasses CO2, N2O and CH4 where the gasses are weighted according to their effect on the climate in the atmosphere in relation to CO2. We surveyed a number of organic and conventional farms in Jilin, China (soybe-ans) and São Paulo, Brazil (oranges) and followed the product chains to Denmark. Inputs, outputs and emissi-ons were inventoried on the farms and in the processing and transport. Details can be found in publications on OrganicEprints (Knudsen et al. (2010), http://orgprints.org/17327/ & Knudsen et al. (2011), http://orgprints.org/18417/).Transport is responsible for half of the carbon foot-print valueThe results show that half of the carbon footprint from organic soybean from China was related to transport (see Figure 2).  Approximately the same was found for the orange juice from Brazil.This finding is in agre-ement with English studies which showed that transport accounted for approx. 40-70% of the carbon footprint of imported plant products transported by ship and/or truck. For meat products though, transport does not account for a great share (max. 20%) since the total carbon footprint of meat are much higher than for plant products. However, the absolute contribution from transport is of course the same. Figure 3 provides an overview of examples of greenhouse gas contribu-tions from transport when agricultural products are imported from different countries in the world – counted as kg CO2 equiva-lents per kg product.Interestingly, the results show that the same or even more CO2, is emitted when products are transported by truck from Southern Europe Figure 2. Greenhouse gas emissions from 1 ton of soybeans produced in the Jilin Province in China and transported to the harbor of Aarhus in Denmark (global warming potential (kg CO2 eq. ton soybeans per year).2/20116Articleas compared to transport from South America by ship. In the total carbon footprint of the product, this contribution from transport should be added to the greenhouse gas emis-sions from the production. The emissions from the agricultural production can vary depending on whether it is outdoor production with few inputs or produc-tion in heated greenhouses, which has a much higher climate impact.Difference between organic and conventional soybeanWhen we focus on the environmental effects of the farming systems, the re-sults show that the organic soybean produced in the case study area in China has a lower environmental im-pact than the conventional with regard to greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient enrichment and use of non-renewable energy. Brazilian orange juiceThe results from the Bra-zilian orange juice are not as straight forward. In the study, small-scale organic and conventional orange plantations were compared. The main differences were the absence of pesticides and higher crop diversity at the small-scale organic farms. Furthermore, the small-scale organic farms were compared to the large-scale organic orange plantations. The results showed that the large-scale organic plan-tations had higher green-house gas emissions, cobber use (towards plant diseases), nutrient enrichment and Figure 3. Greenhouse gas emissions from transport (kg CO2 equivalents per kg product) when products are imported to Denmark from selected countries by truck and/or ship. It is assumed that road transport takes place in 40t trucks and pro-ducts transported by ship are reloaded into trucks in Rotterdam Harbor.2/20117Article ArticleMore informationRead more in the PhD disserta-tion: ”Environmental assessment of imported organic products : Focusing on orange juice from Brazil and soybeans from China” 2011. lower crop diversity per hectare compared to the small-scale organic farms. The same tendency was visi-ble when the environmental impacts were accounted per kg orange. These observations sug-gest that there is a need for more focus on how different certified organic produ-ctions comply with the organic ideas and principles. There might also be a need for scrutinizing the organic regulations with regard to regulating especially green-house gas emissions and biodiversity.In the carbon footprint calculations of agricultu-ral products, soil carbon changes have not traditio-nally been included in many previous studies. Results of this study in-dicate that the difference in carbon footprints of orga-nic and conventional plant products was widened when soil carbon changes was included in the calculations. Remember other contri-butions to climate change and other sustainability aspectsIn the debate, of how much transport matters when importing organic products, it is important as a consu-mer to be aware of other food related contributions to climate change that can be reduced, such as reducing food waste, minimizing un-necessary shopping related transport in cars etc.Furthermore, it is im-portant to be aware that sustainability deals with many other aspects than climate, such as biodiversity, nutrient enrichment and socioeconomic issues. As a consumer, the choice of which organic products to buy is also related to impact of the agricultural produc-tion in the country concer-ned – both environmentally and socioeconomically. 

http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/bitstream/doc/901902/1/2011AP29.pdf

Transport is important in the carbon footprint of imported organic plant products.

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Organic Eprints

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Repository Open Access to Scientific Information from Embrapa