Abstract
Industrial agriculture results in environmental burdens due to the overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. Fungicides is a class of pesticides whose application contributes (among others) to human toxicity and ecotoxicity. The European Union aims to increase organic agriculture. For this reason, this work aims to analyze climate change, freshwater ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, human toxicity, (terrestrial) acidification, and freshwater eutrophication impacts of fungicides and calculate expected benefits to human health (per European citizen) and ecosystem quality (terrestrial) with life cycle assessment (LCA) during crop production. The Scopus database was searched for LCA studies that considered the application of fungicides to specific crops. The analysis shows how many systemic and contact fungicides were considered by LCA studies and what was the applied dosage. Furthermore, it shows that fungicides highly contribute to freshwater ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, human toxicity, and freshwater eutrophication for fruits and vegetables, but to a low extent compared to all considered environmental impacts in the case of cereals and rapeseed. Expected benefits to human health and ecosystem quality after fungicides elimination are greater for fruits and vegetables, ranging between 0 to 47 min per European citizen in a year and 0 to 90 species per year, respectively.
Highlights
The most environmentally damaging form of human consumption is eating [1] because industrial agriculture results in environmental burdens due to the overuse of machinery, fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides [2]
This study reviews the contribution to toxicity of fungicides in fruits, vegetables, cereals, and rapeseed production to show the benefits for human health and ecosystem quality after their elimination
life cycle assessment (LCA) studies that focus on fruits use a smaller number of fungicides than vegetables, cereals, and rapeseed
Summary
The most environmentally damaging form of human consumption is eating [1] because industrial agriculture results in environmental burdens due to the overuse of machinery, fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides [2]. The latter are toxic to humans and the environment [3]. The UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development identified bioeconomy as being in line with goals for energy efficiency (Goal 7) [4] These goals resulted in a significant growth of the bioeconomy, and the number of publications about bioeconomy increased from 1000 in 2017 to approximately 3500 in 2021 [5]. Due to the introduction of synthetic pesticides between 1960 and 1989, pest control and agricultural output have significantly improved [7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
