Global warming impact of Florida’s Not-From-Concentrate (NFC) orange juice

Abstract

This study assesses global warming impact (GWI) of Not-From-Concentrate (NFC) orange juice produced in the state of Florida. The selected functional unit (FU) is a NFC orange juice carton available in a standard packing of 1.893L (64 fluid oz) at a local food store. A life-cycle assessment approach was adopted and greenhouse gas emissions of all the steps present in the entire supply chain starting from orange production to storage of orange juice at a local food store were estimated. We considered two scenarios of orange fruit production i.e., with and without resetting of orange trees. The overall GWI for with and without resetting production scenarios was estimated to be 1.6 and 1.8kg carbon dioxide equivalent/FU, respectively. The GWI of NFC orange juice produced under the scenario of with resetting was less as compared to the production scenario of without resetting due to 21% more orange fruit production per unit of land area. We found that the GWI of orange production was highest in the production chain, followed by NFC orange juice production at a citrus processing plant for both the scenarios. We also found that the use of fertilizers for orange production contributes significantly towards total GWI of the NFC orange juice. It is expected that results of this study will help in reducing GWI of the Florida’s orange juice and thus, facilitate the state of Florida in achieving desired environmental goals.