The agri-food industry is a significant resource for the Italian economy, so much so that the related industry segment has played an important role of support of the entire system over the last decade. In fact, in the years 1995-2006, the growth of food production was almost four times as much as the growth of industrial production as a whole (Federalimentare, ISMEA, 2008). In addition to this, the high-quality image recognised to made in Italy productions in the food industry has always been a strategic factor in consideration of the high foreign demand for our products, even in very critical times, such as during the BSE and the avian influenza cases. However, today the competitiveness of this industry seems to be at risk due to the many structural problems, such as the extreme fragmentation of production, but also energy-related and service issues in general. These, in addition to the low R&D investment levels, affect almost all production sectors in our Country (Federalimentare, 2006). As a matter of fact, these problems may accelerate a resizing of the Italian food production, also in consideration of the most recent consumption trends. In fact, on the demand side, we may observe that while the food expense is covering a progressively smaller portion of the global consumer expense, passing from 26.1% in 1983 to 17.7% in 2007 (Federalimentare, 2008), most of the demand is for high-innovation-content products such as healthy or novel foods or high-investment food that ensures quality and safety. In particular, we point out that decisions regarding consumption are mostly based on ‘credence’-like properties, such as production processes, effects on animal wellbeing, the use of pesticides, the impact of agri-food productions on the environment and on labour conditions (Henson, Reardon, 2005), which are all elements that can be developed only with huge efforts in research and innovation to obtain sustainable, high-quality, eco-compatible and economically acceptable production solutions. In order to meet these requirements, a tool has been developed and has started to be increasingly used in the agri-food industry, called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and defined by the ISO 14040 standard, which detects the aspects and environmental impacts connected with the production, but also with the distribution, of food. In spite of the evident usefulness of this tool, which is particularly effective in production planning strategies, its use is still rather limited, and mostly connected to the technical-scientific competence required. In this work, after examining in depth the Italian market and the regulations in force for the sustainability of agri-food production, some applications of the LCA on food have been analyzed to detect its strengths and weaknesses. Finally, based on the results of this analysis, some considerations are presented in this article concerning a better integration of the LCA tool with the communication tools required to inform consumers about the results of this assessment, but also with the techniques available to survey the economic aspects, Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and social impacts, the Social Life Cycle Assessment, so as to have a global assessment of the sustainability of a food product.
SUSTAINABILITY OF FOOD PRODUCTS: USE OF THE LCA AND ITS POSSIBLE INTEGRATION WITH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS
TARABELLA, ANGELA;
2010-01-01
Abstract
The agri-food industry is a significant resource for the Italian economy, so much so that the related industry segment has played an important role of support of the entire system over the last decade. In fact, in the years 1995-2006, the growth of food production was almost four times as much as the growth of industrial production as a whole (Federalimentare, ISMEA, 2008). In addition to this, the high-quality image recognised to made in Italy productions in the food industry has always been a strategic factor in consideration of the high foreign demand for our products, even in very critical times, such as during the BSE and the avian influenza cases. However, today the competitiveness of this industry seems to be at risk due to the many structural problems, such as the extreme fragmentation of production, but also energy-related and service issues in general. These, in addition to the low R&D investment levels, affect almost all production sectors in our Country (Federalimentare, 2006). As a matter of fact, these problems may accelerate a resizing of the Italian food production, also in consideration of the most recent consumption trends. In fact, on the demand side, we may observe that while the food expense is covering a progressively smaller portion of the global consumer expense, passing from 26.1% in 1983 to 17.7% in 2007 (Federalimentare, 2008), most of the demand is for high-innovation-content products such as healthy or novel foods or high-investment food that ensures quality and safety. In particular, we point out that decisions regarding consumption are mostly based on ‘credence’-like properties, such as production processes, effects on animal wellbeing, the use of pesticides, the impact of agri-food productions on the environment and on labour conditions (Henson, Reardon, 2005), which are all elements that can be developed only with huge efforts in research and innovation to obtain sustainable, high-quality, eco-compatible and economically acceptable production solutions. In order to meet these requirements, a tool has been developed and has started to be increasingly used in the agri-food industry, called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and defined by the ISO 14040 standard, which detects the aspects and environmental impacts connected with the production, but also with the distribution, of food. In spite of the evident usefulness of this tool, which is particularly effective in production planning strategies, its use is still rather limited, and mostly connected to the technical-scientific competence required. In this work, after examining in depth the Italian market and the regulations in force for the sustainability of agri-food production, some applications of the LCA on food have been analyzed to detect its strengths and weaknesses. Finally, based on the results of this analysis, some considerations are presented in this article concerning a better integration of the LCA tool with the communication tools required to inform consumers about the results of this assessment, but also with the techniques available to survey the economic aspects, Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and social impacts, the Social Life Cycle Assessment, so as to have a global assessment of the sustainability of a food product.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
