Selecting the Sustainable Fresh Food Surface Transport Array Using Analytic Hierarchy Process

Abstract

The present study investigates the various arrays of the sectors involved in the logistic of fresh food transportation and distribution, considering the sustainability of the overall process, applying the AHP technique. The focus was on Brazil’s fresh food distribution centers and how it is distributed in large cities. The criteria applied in two levels were selected from the literature, and the judgment was made by three experts using an online AHP platform. The final computation was considered the best array with a very high (90.4%) degree of agreement between the participants. The choice of Local food represented 72.1% in the concept of high sustainability. Choosing local foods must not be feasible in large countries or in countries that depend on food imports. However, for fresh food production, the local food production benefits go beyond economic costs, as it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve the carbon footprint of consumers, encourage sustainable agriculture, and have the shortest traceability.