Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2023, 69(7):267-275 | DOI: 10.17221/104/2023-AGRICECON

Analysis of global warming potential: Organic vs. conventional tomatoesOriginal Paper

Alessandro Scuderi1, Giuseppe Timpanaro1, Mariarita Cammarata1
1 Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

Climate change threatens the possibility of ensuring sufficient and quality food for the population. The agricultural sector, considered to be one of the main contributors to the increase of CO2-equivalents (CO2-eq) in the atmosphere, faces one of the most difficult challenges for the sector: increasing production while reducing its impact on the environment. The improvement of adopted practices should be preceded by the quantification of generated emissions. This study aims to provide information on the analysis of the global warming potential (GWP) of tomatoes in Sicily, comparing organic and conventional cultivation methods. The methodology applied is the Life Cycle Assessment, which revealed a reduction in CO2-eq for the organic method compared to the conventional one due to the use of organic fertilisers and crop protection products allowed by organic specifications. The possibility of reducing tomato GWP offers farmers the opportunity to act on the cultivation stage by making it more sustainable and at the same time to communicate the beneficial action, towards the environment, through the product label. The research also highlights that organic production, with the application of new production and pest management techniques, is comparable in terms of quantity produced per hectare to conventional production and with excellent fruit quality.

Keywords: CO2 equivalents; environment; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); open field; sustainability

Received: March 23, 2023; Revised: May 30, 2023; Accepted: May 31, 2023; Published: July 25, 2023  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Scuderi A, Timpanaro G, Cammarata M. Analysis of global warming potential: Organic vs. conventional tomatoes. Agric. Econ. - Czech. 2023;69(7):267-275. doi: 10.17221/104/2023-AGRICECON.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Boguski T.K., Hunt R.G., Cholakis J.M., Franklin W.E. (1996): LCA Methodology. In: Curran M.A. (ed.): Environmental Life-Cycle Assessment. London, McGraw Hill: 15-33.
    2. Bosona T., Gebresenbet G. (2018): Life cycle analysis of organic tomato production and supply in Sweden. Journal of Cleaner Production, 196: 635-643. Go to original source...
    3. Chatzisymeon E., Foteinis S., Borthwick A.G.L. (2017): Life cycle assessment of the environmental performance of conventional and organic methods of open field pepper cultivation system. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 22: 896-908. Go to original source...
    4. European Commission (2019): The European Green Deal. Available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:b828d165-1c22-11ea-8c1f-01aa75ed71a1.0002.02/DOC_1&format=PDF (accessed Mar 2, 2023).
    5. European Commission (2020): 'Farm to Fork' Strategy for a Fair, Healthy and Environmentally-Friendly Food System. Available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:ea0f9f73-9ab2-11ea-9d2d-01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF (accessed Mar 2, 2023).
    6. Falcone G., Stillitano T., Montemurro F., De Luca A.I., Gulisano G., Strano A. (2019): Environmental and economic assessment of sustainability in Mediterranean wheat production. Agronomy Research, 17: 60-76.
    7. Foteinis S., Hatzisymeon M., Borthwick A.G.L., Chatzisymeon E. (2021): Environmental impacts of conventional versus organic eggplant cultivation systems: Influence of electricity mix, yield, over-fertilization, and transportation. Environments, 8: 23. Go to original source...
    8. Foteinis S., Chatzisymeon E. (2016): Life cycle assessment of organic versus conventional agriculture. A case study of lettuce cultivation in Greece. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112: 2462-2471. Go to original source...
    9. Gunady M.G., Biswas W., Solah V.A., James A.P. (2012): Evaluating the global warming potential of the fresh produce supply chain for strawberries, romaine/ cos lettuces (Lactuca sativa), and button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) in Western Australia using life cycle assessment (LCA). Journal of Cleaner Production, 28: 81-87. Go to original source...
    10. Hauschild M.Z., Huijbregts M.A.J. (2015): Life cycle impact assessment. Dordrecht, Springer: 339. Go to original source...
    11. IPCC (2013). Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In Stocker T.F., Qin D., Plattner G.-K., Tignor M., Allen S.K., Boschung J., Nauels A., Xia Y., Bex V., Midgley P.M. (eds.): Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/New York: 222. Available at https://www.ipcc.ch/working-group/wg1/ (accessed Feb 15, 2023).
    12. ISTAT (2022): Crops: Areas and production - overall data - provinces. [Dataset]. Available at http://dati.istat.it/?lang=en⋐SessionId=b5e22202-ec47-4b5c-9c54-17f95fb70612 (accessed Feb 20, 2023).
    13. Khoshnevisan B., Rafiee S., Omid M., Mousazadeh H., Clark S. (2014): Environmental impact assessment of tomato and cucumber cultivation in greenhouses using life cycle assessment and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system. Journal of Cleaner Production, 73: 183-192. Go to original source...
    14. Meier M.S., Stoessel F., Jungbluth N., Juraske R., Schader C., Stolze M. (2015): Environmental impacts of organic and conventional agricultural products - are the differences captured by life cycle assessment? Journal of Environmental Management, 149: 193-208. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    15. Murray M., Skene K., Haynes K. (2015): The circular economy: An interdisciplinary exploration of the concept and application in a global context. Journal of Business Ethics, 140: 369-380. Go to original source...
    16. Nascimento C.S., Cecílio Filho A.B., Mendoza-Cortez J.W., Nascimento C.S., Bezerra Neto F., Grangeiro L.C. (2018): Effect of population density of lettuce intercropped with rocket on productivity and land-use efficiency. PLoS ONE 13: e0194756. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    17. Nemecek T., Kägi T. (2007): Life Cycle Inventories of Agricultural Production Systems; Final Report Ecoinvent v2.0 No15. Dübendorf/Zurich, Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories: 1-360. Available at https://db.ecoinvent.org/reports/15_Agriculture.pdf (accessed Feb 15, 2023).
    18. Nemecek T., Huguenin-Elie O., Dubois D., Gaillard G., Schaller B., Chervet A. (2011a): Life cycle assessment of Swiss farming systems: II. Extensive and intensive production. Agricultural systems, 104: 33-245. Go to original source...
    19. Nemecek T., Weiler K., Plassmann K., Schnetzer J., Gaillard G., Jefferies D., King H., Milà i Canals L. (2011b): Modular Extrapolation Approach for Crop LCA MEXALCA: Global Warming Potential of Different Crops and its Relationship to the Yield. In: Finkbeiner M.: Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Management. Dordrecht, Springer: 591. Go to original source...
    20. Page G., Ridoutt B., Bellotti B. (2012): Carbon and water footprint tradeoffs in fresh tomato production. Journal of cleaner production, 32: 219-226. Go to original source...
    21. Parajuli R., Thoma G., Matlock M.D. (2018): Environmental sustainability of fruit and vegetable production supply chains in the face of climate change: A review. Science of the Total Environment, 650: 2863-2879. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    22. Parajuli R., Matlock M. T., Thoma G. (2021): Cradle to grave environmental impact evaluation of the consumption of potato and tomato products. Science of the Total Environment, 758: 143662. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    23. Poudelet V., Chayer J.-A., Margni M., Pellerin R., Samson R. (2012): A process-based approach to operationalize life cycle assessment through the development of an eco-design decision-support system. Journal of Cleaner Production, 33: 192-201. Go to original source...
    24. Prandecki K., Wrzaszcz W., Zielinski M. (2021): Environmental and climate challenges to agriculture in Poland in the context of objectives adopted in the European Green Deal strategy. Sustainability, 13: 10318. Go to original source...
    25. Scuderi A., Cammarata M., Branca F., Timpanaro G. (2021a): Agricultural production trends towards carbon neutrality in response to the EU 2030 Green Deal: Economic and environmental analysis in horticulture. Agricultural Economics - Czech 67: 435-444. Go to original source...
    26. Scuderi A., Cammarata M., La Via G., Pecorino B., Timpanaro G. (2021b): Life-cycle assessment of biofortified productions: The case of selenium potato. Applied System Innovation, 4: 1-11. Go to original source...
    27. Sinab (2022): Bio in Numbers (Bio in cifre) 2022. [Dataset]. Available at https://www.sinab.it/sites/default/files/2022-07/Agricoltura_biologica_Overview_2022_040722_DEFINITIVO.pdf (accessed Mar 6, 2023). (in Italian)
    28. Sturiale L., Scuderi A. (2011): Information and communication technology (ICT) and adjustment of the marketing strategy in the agrifood system in Italy. 5th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Sustainable Agri-Production and Environment, HAICTA, Skiathos, Sept 8, 2011 - Sept 11, 2011. CEUR Workshop Proceedings, 1152: 77-87.
    29. Timpanaro G., Branca F., Cammarata M., Falcone G., Scuderi A. (2021): Life cycle assessment to highlight the environmental burdens of early potato production. Agronomy, 11: 879. Go to original source...
    30. Torres-Pineda I., Lee Y.D., Kim Y.S., Lee S.M., Park K.S. (2021): Review of inventory data in life cycle assessment applied in production of fresh tomato in greenhouse. Journal of Cleaner Production, 282: 124395. Go to original source...
    31. Urbano B., Barquero M., Gonzalez-Andres F. (2022): The environmental impact of fresh tomatoes consumed in cities: A comparative LCA of long-distance transportation and local production. Scientia Horticulturae, 301: 111126. Go to original source...
    32. Zarei M.J., Kazemi N., Marzban A. (2019): Life cycle environmental impacts of cucumber and tomato production in open-field and greenhouse. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, 18: 249-255. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content