Abstract
The extending trade with agricultural products and food stuff has, caused by the transport of these goods, an increasing effect on the environment and human health. To analyse the effects of transport on regional, national, European and global level a life cycle assessment model for trading is developed. On this basis the life cycle assessment of a supraregional standard basket is elaborated. In contrast the routes of transportation of a regional standard basket, based on the range of food stuffs of a retail enterprise, are captured in a life cycle assessment. The regional standard basket causes merely a third to half of the damage to the environment in each category of effects, compared to the supraregional standard basket. The potentials to reduce these effects can be seen in direct correlation to the trade structure of the investigated enterprise. The negative effects on the environment can be diminished if the efficiency of the means of transport is increased or the distances of transporting are reduced. As the investigated example illustrates, the regional trade with food stuff and agricultural products offers a large potential for a reduced usage of resources and the protection of the environment. Through co-operation with the food retail trade this potential could be acquired by many regional initiatives as well.
Translated title of the contribution | Life Cycle Assessment for trading of regional and supraregional food stuff - A comparison of different marketing structures |
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Original language | German |
Pages (from-to) | 437-457 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Berichte uber Landwirtschaft |
Volume | 81 |
Issue number | 3 |
State | Published - Oct 2003 |