The interaction between milk and beef production and emissions from land use change - critical considerations in life cycle assessment and carbon footprint studies of milk

Flysjö, Anna; Cederberg, Christel; Henriksson, Maria; Ledgard, Stewart

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.11.046

Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2012

The interaction between milk and beef production and emissions from land use change - critical considerations in life cycle assessment and carbon footprint studies of milk

Flysjö, Anna; Cederberg, Christel; Henriksson, Maria; Ledgard, Stewart

Abstract

How to account for emissions from LUC is highly debated and there is no current shared consensus. Different LUC methods result in significantly different results. In this study, four different LUC methods are applied, using data for organic milk production and high yielding conventional milk production systems in Sweden. Depending on which LUC method was applied, the organic system showed about 50% higher or 40% lower CF compared to the conventional high yielding system. Thus, when reporting CF numbers, it is important to report LUC-factors separately and clearly explain the underlying assumptions, since the method of accounting for LUC can drastically change the results. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

LCA; System expansion; Allocation; LUC; Milk production

Published in

Journal of Cleaner Production
2012, volume: 28, pages: 134-142
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Authors' information

Flysjö, Anna

Cederberg, Christel

Henriksson, Maria

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Rural Buildings and Animal Husbandry [LBT]

Ledgard, Stewart

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG15 Life on land
SDG12 Responsible consumption and production

UKÄ Subject classification

Other Environmental Engineering

Publication Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.11.046

URI (permanent link to this page)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/45653