Influence of Production Areas on Agri-Foods Sustainability:A Carbon Footprint Comparison

The carbon footprint as a concept is the greenhouse gas emission resulting from human activities. There is the impact of human actions, from daily routines to industrial processes on Earth's resources and climate. Carbon footprint, quantified in tons of CO2 or CO2 equivalent, has become a prominent metric. It encompasses emissions from various sources including fossil fuel combustion, electricity generation, and production processes, encompassing not only CO2 but also methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons. The outline highlights the disparities in per capita carbon footprints among nations. Moreover, it underscores the significance of considering consumption related emissions from international trade and transportation, through statistical data and insights from international reports. People are becoming aware of climate change demanding manufacturers to disclose the climate impact of their products which can be easily achieved through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Food production results in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, comprising over one third of total emissions. Key stages including farming, manufacturing, and pre-production are major GHG emitters within the food industry. The farm stage contributes substantially to emissions through agricultural practices, livestock production, and land use changes. From farming to post-production, GHGs are emitted, with through processing, packaging, transportation, and waste disposal. Food production involve improvements in agricultural techniques, development of new production methods, and the promotion of environmentally friendly products can result in carbon footprints reduction. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), evaluates environmental impact. Shifting towards plant-based diets can lower GHG emissions compared to animal-based diets, as meat production emits more carbon. Effective communication with consumers is crucial for modifying behavior and reducing carbon footprints. Food waste contributes significantly to GHG emissions, Nano packaging to extend shelf life and minimize spoilage. In countries like China reducing GHG emissions involves optimizing cropping methods, efficiently using chemical fertilizers, and adopting water saving irrigation techniques, diverse cropping systems, efficient fertilizer use, and soil sequestration, have the potential to significantly reduce carbon footprints while improving agricultural productivity. There are different steps through which a particular food ingredient passes through to become and edible food such as pre harvesting, harvesting, post harvesting involving handling and storage, processing, manufacturing, distribution to retail and wholesale, household. All the steps through which a food ingredient passes through emit certain amount of carbon footprint. Different countries grow or produce different products with in their own country and import some products from other countries as well. There are many food products that are traded around the whole world and among those important food products include coffee, mango, rice, wheat, chocolate, palm oil, grapes and salmon.