Environmental impacts of food losses along the entire Swiss potato supply chain – Current situation and reduction potentials

Abstract

Food production causes large environmental impacts. In Switzerland, more than half of the initial potato production is not directly consumed by humans but lost. To analyze the environmental impacts caused by these losses, we conducted a Life Cycle Assessment concerning the demand for nonrenewable energy resources, the global warming potential, human toxicity and ecotoxicity (terrestrial and aquatic). We allocated these environmental impacts at each stage of the Swiss potato supply chain to marketable potatoes and potato losses. Furthermore, this study investigated how potential loss reduction scenarios and various loss treatments (animal feed, biogas, incineration) might affect the total ecological performance of the supply chain. The results showed that potato losses were responsible for 39% of the total terrestrial ecotoxicity, 31% of the total potato supply chain's global warming potential, 31% of its human toxicity, 27% of its aquatic ecotoxicity and 23% of its demand for nonrenewable energy resources. The results indicated in general that environmental benefits due to the loss treatments were bigger than benefits achieved by the loss reduction scenarios. Loss treatments, in particular feeding and fermentation, could reduce the examined impacts, but not generating losses represented a better option, especially at the household stage (the impacts here were 8–42 times as high as the impacts of losses at agricultural production). A combination of loss reduction and loss treatment could overcompensate the environmental impacts caused by potato losses because potatoes may be used to substitute for other goods.