Abstract
This chapter discusses the application of life cycle assessment methodologies
to rice, wheat, corn and some of their derived products. Cereal product
systems are vital for the production of commodities of worldwide importance that
entail particular environmental hot spots originating from their widespread use and
from their particular nature. It is thus important for tools such as life cycle assessment
(LCA) to be tailored to such cereal systems in order to be used as a means of
identifying the negative environmental effects of cereal products and highlighting
possible pathways to overall environmental improvement in such systems. Following
a brief introduction to the cereal sector and supply chain, this chapter reviews
some of the current cereal-based life cycle thinking literature, with a particular
emphasis on LCA. Next, an analysis of the LCA methodological issues emerging
from the literature review is carried out. The following section of the chapter discusses
some practices and approaches that should be considered when performing
cereal-based LCAs in order to achieve the best possible results. Conclusions are
drawn in the final part of the chapter and some indications are given of the main hot
spots in the cereal supply chain.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Life Cycle Assessment in the Agri-food Sector : Case Studies, Methodological Issues and Best Practices |
| Editors | Bruno Notarnicola, Pietro A. Renzulli, Roberta Salomone, Rocco Roma, Luigia Petti, Alessandro K. Cerutti |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Publication date | 2015 |
| Pages | 185-250 |
| Chapter | 4 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-3-319-11939-7 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-3-319-11940-3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
