Abstract
Apple is Korea’s most representative fruit. This study calculated absolute and relative product sustainability through environmental and cost assessments on apples by cultivation farming. The ISO 14040 life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used as a method of environmental assessment. Primary data for one year, 2018, were collected for the environmental assessment of conventional and low-carbon farming. The eco-points of apples cultivated by conventional and low-carbon farming using the LCA 2.07 × 10−3 and 1.17 × 10−3, respectively. The environmental impact of conventional apples was 78% higher than that of low-carbon apples. Cost assessment results show that every 1 kg of conventional and low-carbon apples costs USD 1.93 and USD 3.17, respectively, and their profits were USD 0.20 and USD 1.00, respectively. The total cost of conventional apples was lower than that of low-carbon apples, but its profit was one-fifth that of low-carbon apples. The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP)’s eco-efficiency method was used to calculate absolute sustainability, and the concept of factor X was introduced to evaluate relative sustainability. Absolute sustainability for conventional and low-carbon apples was 96.01 (USD/eco-point) and 853.03 (USD/eco-point), respectively. Low-carbon apples’ relative sustainability was computed in factor 8.89. Finally, if all farms that grow conventional apples shift to cultivating low-carbon apples, they can save 58,111 tons of carbon dioxide. This amount is at least 3.4% of the nation’s greenhouse gas reduction in the agricultural and livestock sectors. This study provides a clear reason for the agricultural sector to shift its cultivation method from conventional to eco-friendly farming, including low-carbon farming.
Highlights
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in September 2015 following the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which provided an important framework from 2000 to 2015
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicts that the world average daily calorie intake per capita was 2435 kcal in 1975, 2940 kcal in 2015, up to 3050 kcal in 2030 [3]
The European Commission Joint Research Centre (EC Joint Research Center (JRC)) announced that three product groups such as food and drink, private transport, and housing are responsible for 70% to 80% of the environmental impact of consumption, and account for some 60% of consumption expenditure
Summary
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in September 2015 following the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which provided an important framework from 2000 to 2015. The SDGs comprise 17 goals and 169 detailed goals and have a human-centered value orientation. They encompass three main branches: social engagement, economic growth, and sustainable environment. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), achieving economic growth and sustainable development requires urgent ecological footprint reduction by changing goods and resources’ production and consumption [1]. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicts that the world average daily calorie intake per capita was 2435 kcal in 1975, 2940 kcal in 2015, up to 3050 kcal in 2030 [3]. Agriculture consumes much water worldwide, and irrigation claims approximately 70% of freshwater for human use [4]. The EC introduced the environmental footprint as a new way to provide consumers with information on environmental impacts generated throughout the life cycle of the food [6]
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