David Pérez Neira

Analysis of the transport of imported food in Spain and its contribution to global warming

Through the process of globalization, food has experienced an intense territorial restructuring process. Local agric-food links have weakened at the same time as daily products arrived from distant lands. There is presently a wide international debate on the importance of transport in the configuration of the agric-food system and its contribution in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG). The direct environmental costs of the transport of imported food, that is the ‘external food miles’, have been estimated in kilometer (km), ton (t), ton-kilometer (t-km) and GHG in Spain between 1995 and 2011. The analysis is made by ten food groups including 136 products, with special attention to the most important ones (cereals and animal feed), as well as by means of transport (air, rail, road and water) and from 113 different countries belonging to six geographical areas. Two phases are identified during this period: an expansive phase (1995–2007), in which the t-km of imported food increased from 81.8 to 147.8 million t-km and environmental pressure rose from 3.1 to 5.4 million CO 2 -eq t, and a recession phase (2007–2011), in which environmental pressure subsided as a consequence of the reduction of imports, even though it still remained above the 1995 level. The article reveals a clear interrelation between amounts, distances and modal distribution when it comes to determining the environmental cost of transporting food imports in the two periods studied. It also reflects on the role of the external food miles in the Spanish agri-food system from a sustainability perspective.

Energy Analysis of Organic Farming in Andalusia (Spain)

High oil dependence and energy inefficiency are structural characteristics of industrialized agricultural systems. In a context of climate change and growing energy shortage as the present one, energy indicators should be increasingly taken into account as measures of environmental sustainability, efficiency, and technical-productive viability in analyses and decision-making processes in the field of agriculture. One of the most relevant characteristics of agriculture is its capacity to transform energy and to generate an energy “surplus” that has very diverse uses (human feeding, animal feeding, fertilization, etc.). This energy surplus is potentially greater in organic farming. However, empirical studies analyzing the aggregate energy performance of organic farming and allowing an assessment of the scope and energy limitations of this type of production are few. This work analyses the energy performance of organic farming in Andalusia, the southern region of Spain, both in an aggregate form and by large groups of crops, through the energy assessment of its output, inputs and energy efficiency (ER). The energy ratio of Andalusian organic farming in 2005 was estimated by 1.40, the extensive crops (2.86), horticultural crops (0.18), citrus fruits (0.39), subtropical fruits (0.85), other fruits (1.64), nuts (0.54), olive (2.08), and vine (0.76).

Energy use and carbon footprint of the tomato production in heated multi-tunnel greenhouses in Almeria within an exporting agri-food system context

Almeria (Spain) is one of the most important agricultural centers of vegetable cultivation in Europe. The search for technological innovation has led to the introduction of climate control systems in greenhouses in Almeria to improve productivity during the cold season. Up to now, no studies have analyzed the energy behavior of introducing this technology in this specific region. The objective of the present study is therefore to analyze the energy use and carbon footprint (CF) of the tomato production in heated multi-tunnel greenhouses in Almeria from a life cycle perspective (cradle to regional distribution center approach). The results obtained show that the introduction of heating systems in multi-tunnel greenhouses in Almeria allowed for an increase in the annual productivity per hectare and kilogram below the increment in cumulative energy demand (CED). The on-farm CED and CF were estimated at, respectively, 13.4 MJ and 0.92 kg CO2-eq kg-1 of gross production. The impacts were thus 3.3 and 2.75 times higher than those of the unheated crop. The use of energy and infrastructure (86.1%), fertilizers, and infrastructure (66.9%) were the main hotspots of the heated and unheated tomato crops. With regard to the marketed output and the supply chain, the CF and CED of heated tomatoes were 2.07 kg CO2-eq and 29.30 MJ kg-1, with a non-renewable EROI (energy return on investment) (0.030:1) that was 48% lower than the one obtained with unheated tomatoes. On-farm production (64.1%), transport, and packing (65.9%) were, respectively, the main hotspots in the heated and unheated tomato agri-food systems. The production of heated tomatoes in Almeria may continue to be a better energy option than locally producing the crop in heated greenhouses in northern Europe, as long as other options related to the seasonal local production and changing diets are not taken into account.

Energy Indicators for Organic Livestock Production: A Case Study from Andalusia, Southern Spain

This work analyzes the energy performance of organic livestock farming in Andalusia (Spain), both as an industry and by type of livestock, through the application of the energy analysis methodology adapted in this article to the study of the organic livestock farming. From this perspective, it is possible to observe that organic livestock farming has a great capacity to use resources and generate outputs in the form of products of animal origin and, especially, manure, which is an important resource for agricultural fertilization. The energy efficiency of organic livestock farming in Andalusia is estimated at 0.08. If the manure reused by agriculture is considered an output, the efficiency of the industry reaches 0.32. Also, 28% of the energy consumed by the industry is nonrenewable and the energy efficiency in relation to the use of nonrenewable energy is estimated at 1.38. By type of livestock, the energy efficiency in relation to the use of nonrenewable energy is estimated at 1.78, 1.62, 0.84, 0.57, 0.22 for goats, cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. These results show the capacity of extensive organic livestock farming to reduce energy costs and improve its energy efficiency.