Sarah J. Cowell

Localisation of UK food production: an analysis using land area and energy as indicators

A variety of policy strategies have been proposed and argued as capable of delivering more sustainable food systems, and accompanying indicators have been developed to analyse the implications of these strategies for specific situations. This paper focuses on the policy strategy suggesting that localisation of food production leads to more sustainable societies. A case study of UK food production, and imports and exports of foodstuffs, is presented to explore the feasibility of operationalising this strategy, using land area and energy use as indicators. Novel features of the method used in the case study include: analysis at country level in specific foodstuff categories, and use of actual data on production and consumption of foodstuffs. The results show that, based on the land use indicator, localisation of UK food production is possible, although this would involve considerable changes in individuals’ food consumption patterns. However, would implementation of such a strategy actually contribute to a more sustainable society? Using the indicators of land area and energy use, this question cannot be answered without additional consideration of the trade-offs between the UK and other countries in yields from equivalent crops, and energy requirements for agricultural production.

Use of Risk Assessment and Life Cycle Assessment in Decision Making: A Common Policy Research Agenda

Quantitative risk assessment (RA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) are both analytical tools used to support decision making in environmental management. They have been developed and used by largely separate groups of specialists, and it is worth considering whether there is a common research agenda that may increase the relevance of these tools in decision-making processes. The validity of drawing comparisons between use of the tools is established through examining key aspects of the two approaches for their similarities and differences, including the nature of each approach and contextual and methodological aspects. Six case studies involving use of each approach in public decision making are described and used to draw out concerns about using RA and LCA in this context. The following categories of concern can be distinguished: philosophical approach of the tools; quantitative versus qualitative assessment; stakeholder participation; the nature of the results; and the usefulness of the results in relation to time and financial resource requirements. These can be distilled into a common policy research agenda focusing on: the legitimacy of using tools built on a particular perspective in decision making; recognition and role of value judgments in RA and LCA; treatment of uncertainty and variability; the influence of analytical tools in focusing attention on particular aspects of a decision-making situation; and understandability of the results for nonspecialists. It is concluded that it is time to bring together the experiences of RA and LCA specialists and benefit from cross-fertilization of ideas.

A methodology for assessing soil quantity and quality in life cycle assessment

Changes resulting from economic activities in the quantity and quality of soil in a system under analysis are important considerations in a life cycle assessment (LCA) study because they affect the safeguard subjects of resources and future agricultural productivity. In the approach proposed here, soil is treated as an ancillary which may leave the system in a form different from that at entry. Relevant factors describing possible changes in the soil include: soil mass, nutrients, weeds and weed seeds, pathogens, nutrients, salts, pH, organic matter, and soil texture and structure. Many of the factors can be included by modelling the effects of infrequent activities benefitting the crop(s) under analysis. Three additional factors require separate assessment: changes in the mass of soil, its organic matter content, and soil compaction. Taken together, these approaches provide an integrated assessment method capable of accounting for the overall impacts of agricultural production on soil.

Impact assessment for LCAs involving agricultural production

LCA has been developed primarily for industrial production systems. Application to agricultural systems requires systematic application of existing methodology and new methodological developments. Conventional approaches can obscure potential options for improving the environmental performance of systems involving agricultural production due to use of restricted system boundaries, incomplete assessment of impacts, and exclusion of ancillaries from the analysis. For use of nutrients such as phosphorus, it is proposed that Impact Assessment should be based on the quantity dispersed after use rather than on the input to the productive system. Eventually, the impacts associated with depletion should be based on technological or thermodynamic assessment of concentration for reuse, but this approach requires further theoretical development.

The MIIM LCA Ph.D. Club : Presentation and introduction

During 1998, the number of completed Ph.D.s on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) seemed to be larger than any previous year. In order to mark this achievement, a special series is being published in the International Journal of LCA. In this introductory paper, the Class of MUM outline the results of their research work over the last few years. A number of common points and tendencies have emerged through this work. First of all, the scope-dependency of LCA models: some of us have discerned in particular the need to distinguish between descriptive and change-oriented LCAs. Secondly, a number of the theses focus on the interaction between LCA and decision-making. Thirdly, the benefits of pluralism in impact assessment and allocation have been advocated in some of the theses. Finally, it may be noted that in these theses structuring the management of controversial issues seems to be preferred to eliminating such issues by a process of harmonisation. Future papers will map out the intellectual journeys undertaken in the development of these theses and discuss key findings in more detail.