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Domestic or imported? An assessment of carbon footprints and sustainability of seafood consumed in Australia
Citation
Farmery, AK and Gardner, C and Green, BS and Jennings, S and Watson, RA, Domestic or imported? An assessment of carbon footprints and sustainability of seafood consumed in Australia, Environmental Science and Policy, 54 pp. 35-43. ISSN 1462-9011 (2015) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2015.06.007
Abstract
The distance between where food is produced and consumed is increasing, and is often taken as evidence of an unsustainable global food system. Seafood is a highly traded commodity yet seafood sustainability assessments do not typically consider the impacts of the movement of products beyond the fishery or farm. Here we use life cycle assessment to examine the carbon footprint of the production and distribution of select seafood products that are consumed in Australia and determine differences in the sustainability of imports and their domestically produced counterparts. We found that the distance food is transported is not the main determinant of food sustainability. Despite the increased distance between production and consumption, carbon footprints of meals from imported seafood are similar to meals consisting of domestically produced seafood, and sometimes lower, depending on the seafood consumed. In combining LCA with existing seafood sustainability criteria the trade-offs between sustainability targets become more apparent. Carbon ‘footprinting’ is one metric that can be incorporated in assessments of sustainability, thereby demonstrating a broader perspective of the environmental cost of food production and consumption.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | imports, seafood trade, supply chain, life cycle assessment, food miles, sustainable seafood |
| Research Division: | Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences |
| Research Group: | Fisheries sciences |
| Research Field: | Aquaculture and fisheries stock assessment |
| Objective Division: | Animal Production and Animal Primary Products |
| Objective Group: | Fisheries - wild caught |
| Objective Field: | Fisheries - wild caught not elsewhere classified |
| UTAS Author: | Farmery, AK (Ms Anna Farmery) |
| UTAS Author: | Gardner, C (Professor Caleb Gardner) |
| UTAS Author: | Green, BS (Associate Professor Bridget Green) |
| UTAS Author: | Jennings, S (Dr Sarah Jennings) |
| UTAS Author: | Watson, RA (Professor Reginald Watson) |
| ID Code: | 101674 |
| Year Published: | 2015 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 24 |
| Deposited By: | IMAS Research and Education Centre |
| Deposited On: | 2015-06-30 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-11-06 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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