An Economic and Environmental Comparison of Conventional and Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Supply Chains for Leaf Lettuce to US Cities

Abstract

We assess the landed costs and selected environmental outcomes of conventional field-based and representative CEA supply chains (greenhouses and plant factories) for leaf lettuce delivered to wholesale markets in two US cities. Simulation modeling using heat balance methods was used to assess CEA energy use. Landed costs of field-produced lettuce from California were less than half those from CEA systems. “Best case” analysis suggests few plausible assumptions under which urban-based CEA supply chains have landed costs comparable to field-based supply chains. Energy use and Global Warming Potential (GWP) were also generally larger for CEA supply chains, although a CEA greenhouse had only slightly higher values for GWP if located near its delivery location. Additional analysis of more automated systems in peri-urban areas is merited.