Evaluating the Sustainability and Nutritional Benefits of Alternative Production Systems and Foods

评估替代生产系统和食品的可持续性和营养益处

• 批准号: 2628791
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2628791
• 关键词: Evaluating; Sustainability; Nutritional; Benefits; Alternative

The food system currently contributes to major negative externalities including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water degradation and major nutrient imbalances, e.g. leading to conditions like type 2 diabetes. Improving food qualities and reducing negative environmental impacts are both essential and of increasing urgency. Novel production methods needs to be evaluated objectively and the limits to them assessed. Niche production may be apparently successful, but feeding nations well and with low impacts must be implemented at scale and this needs critical analysis, e.g. a recent Cranfield study showed that a 100% conversion to organic producing in England and Wales would increase GHG emissions. Vertical farming exists in subterranean niches under cities, but can this operate at effective commercial scale? Understanding and quantifying the biophysical limits to supply is critical for the future to enable sustainable consumption with greatly reduced negative environmental impacts. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been used to evaluate individual foods and whole diets, but the explicit inclusion of nutritional properties within analyses is still tentative. The social acceptability of producing and consuming some novel foods could be a major obstacle to uptake.Two major food areas are considered: (a) meats and alternative high protein foods and (b) high value horticultural crops (for flavour and micronutrient supply). Examples are (but not limited to): plant and fungal proteins (as whole and processed foods), insects for human food and animal (including fish) feed, cultured meat, vertical farming and associated high technology horticultural production methods (hydro and aeroponic methods), both using natural and artificial lighting. Primary production of meats (especially from ruminants) tend to create very high GHG emissions, while much high value horticultural produce is produced in high energy product systems, imported by air freight or imported from highly water stressed areas. Producing alternatives to meats and producing more high value horticultural produce in lower impacting systems is clearly needed.The hypothesis to be tested is that emerging alternative foods and production methods can make significant improvements in reducing negative environmental effects while promoting better nutrition.The objectives are:Identify and scrutinise current and emerging foods and production systems, especially alternatives to meat and systems for high value fresh produce.Develop the Cranfield LCA food system model to address most promising alternative foods and systems, initially using preliminary prospective LCAs of the new approaches.Extend the model method to account explicitly for nutrient content enabling this to be part of a functional unit.Use the food system model (with prospective LCAs) to explore major changes in protein and high value horticultural produce and to identify most promising alternatives to study these in greater detail.Develop the prospective LCAs with novel primary data to evaluate exemplars in detailed LCAs. Integrate the environmental LCAs with Social LCA.Evaluate the limits to production, healthy nutrient supply and acceptability of novel foods and systems

目前，粮食系统造成了主要的负外部性，包括温室气体排放、水资源退化和严重的营养失衡，例如导致2型糖尿病等疾病。提高粮食质量和减少对环境的负面影响是至关重要的，也是日益紧迫的。新的生产方法需要客观地评估，并评估其局限性。利基生产可能是表面上成功的，但必须大规模地实现以低影响养活国家，这需要进行批判性分析，例如，最近的一项克兰菲尔德研究表明，英格兰和威尔士100%转换为有机生产将增加温室气体排放。垂直农业存在于城市地下的壁龛中，但它能以有效的商业规模运作吗？了解和量化供应的生物物理限制对于未来实现可持续消费并大大减少对环境的负面影响至关重要。生命周期评估（LCA）已被用于评估个别食品和全饮食，但在分析中明确纳入营养特性仍然是试探性的。社会对生产和消费某些新食品的接受程度可能是吸收的一个主要障碍，考虑了两个主要食品领域：（a）肉类和替代高蛋白食品和（B）高价值园艺作物（用于提供风味和微量营养素）。例如（但不限于）：植物和真菌蛋白质（作为整体和加工食品），用于人类食物和动物（包括鱼类）饲料的昆虫，养殖肉类，垂直农业和相关的高科技园艺生产方法（水力和气培法），使用自然和人工照明。肉类的初级生产（特别是反刍动物）往往会产生非常高的温室气体排放，而许多高价值的园艺产品是在高能源产品系统中生产的，通过空运进口或从水资源高度紧张的地区进口。生产肉类替代品和在低影响系统中生产更多高价值园艺产品显然是必要的。有待检验的假设是，新兴的替代食品和生产方法可以在减少负面环境影响方面取得重大进展，同时促进更好的营养。目标是：识别和审查当前和新兴的食品和生产系统，特别是肉类的替代品和高价值新鲜农产品的系统。开发克兰菲尔德LCA食品系统模型，以解决最有前途的替代食品和系统，最初使用新方法的初步前瞻性LCAs。扩展模型方法，明确说明营养素含量，使其成为功能单元的一部分。使用食物系统模型（有潜在的LCA）探索蛋白质和高价值园艺产品的主要变化，并确定最有前途的替代品，以更详细地研究这些变化。在详细的LCAs样本。将环境生命周期评价与社会生命周期评价相结合。评估生产限制、健康营养供应以及新食品和系统的可接受性