Replying to “Questions and Concerns Re: Blue Water Footprints Reported in “Water Footprint of Meat Analogs: Selected Indicators According to Life Cycle Assessment””

In 2019, we published a study focused on the quantification of several indicators related to the water footprint of meat analogs. Recently, a comment requesting clarification of specific data that were reported in our study was published. The present reply addresses their questions. We justified the high volume of water consumed in the production of the meat analogs’ ingredients, the observed differences between our data and those reported for other plant-based products and the information we had reported in our original manuscript that was obtained from secondary sources in the scientific literature. We anticipate that our responses address the questions that were raised.

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Questions and Concerns Re: Blue Water Footprints Reported in “Water Footprint of Meat Analogs: Selected Indicators According to Life Cycle Assessment”

Water ◽

10.3390/w12051270 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 1270 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Raychel E. Santo ◽

Brent F. Kim ◽

Keeve E. Nachman

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Blue Water ◽

Order Of Magnitude

The article “Water Footprint of Meat Analogs: Selected Indicators According to Life Cycle Assessment,” Water 2019 11: 728 by Fresán et al. analyzes the water footprints (WFs) of 39 meat analogs and their associated eutrophication and ecotoxicity potential. We have several questions and concerns about the WFs presented in this study, which in some cases are an order of magnitude larger than those reported for similar products in other published works. Additionally, at least some of the WFs of other meat analogs and conventional meats—to which the authors compare their results—appear to misrepresent the cited literature. We encourage the authors to provide clarification on how the WF values for meat analogs are so much higher than those reported in other studies and to verify the comparison values reported from other sources.

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A cradle to gate life cycle assessment of Turkish lignite used for electricity generation with site-specific data

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.04.025 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 129 ◽

pp. 478-490 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Hatice Şengül ◽

Ferda Bayrak ◽

Merih Aydınalp Köksal ◽

Bahtiyar Ünver

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Site Specific ◽

Specific Data ◽

Cradle To Gate

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Water Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment: The Complementary Strengths of Analyzing Global Freshwater Appropriation and Resulting Local Impacts

Water ◽

10.3390/w13060803 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 803

Author(s):

Winnie Gerbens-Leenes ◽

Markus Berger ◽

John Anthony Allan

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Local Impacts ◽

Global Water

Considering that 4 billion people are living in water-stressed regions and that global water consumption is predicted to increase continuously [...]

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Water footprint assessment of gold refining: Case study based on life cycle assessment

Ecological Indicators ◽

10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107319 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 122 ◽

pp. 107319

Author(s):

Wei Chen ◽

Jinglan Hong ◽

Chengxin Wang ◽

Lu Sun ◽

Tianzuo Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Gold Refining

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Life cycle assessment of organic Parmesan Cheese considering the whole dairy supply chain

Proceedings of the 5th International Food Operations & Processing Simulation Workshop ◽

10.46354/i3m.2019.foodops.004 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Giulia Borghesi ◽

Giuseppe Vignali

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Supply Chain ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Organic Agriculture ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Dairy Farm ◽

Parmesan Cheese

Agriculture and food manufacturing have a considerable effect on the environment emissions: holdings and farms play an important role about greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. This study aims at evaluating the environmental impact of one of the most important Italian DOP product: organic Parmesan Cheese. Environmental performances of the whole dairy supply chain have been assessed according to the life cycle assessment approach (LCA). In this analysis Parmesan Cheese is made from an organic dairy farm in Emilia Romagna, which uses the milk from three different organic livestock productions. Organic agriculture is different from conventional; the major difference is represented by the avoidance of the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides made in chemical industry process. Organic agriculture uses organic fertilizers to encourage the natural fertility of the soil respecting the environment and the agro-system. In this case, life cycle approach is used to assess the carbon footprint and the water footprint of organic Parmesan Cheese considering the milk and cheese production. The object at this level is investigating the environmental impact considering the situation before some improvement changes. The functional unit is represented by 1 kg of organic Parmesan Cheese; inventory data refer to the situation in year 2017 and system boundaries consider the inputs related to the cattle and dairy farm until the ripening (included). The carbon footprint is investigated using IPCC 2013 Global Warming Potential (GWP) 100a method, developed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and reported in kg of CO2eq. Otherwise, water footprint allows to measure the water consumption and in this work it is assessed using AWARE method (Available Water REmaining).

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The Application of Blockchain-Based Life Cycle Assessment on an Industrial Supply Chain

10.20944/preprints202110.0441.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xuda Lin ◽

Xing Li ◽

Sameer Kulkarni ◽

Fu Zhao

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Supply Chain ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Inventory Data ◽

Specific Data ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Block Chain ◽

New Framework ◽

Significant Factors

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a widely recognized tool used to evaluate environmental impacts of a product or process, based on the environmental inventory database and bills of material. Data quality is one of the most significant factors affecting the analysis results. However, currently most datasets in inventory databases are generic i.e., they may represent material and energy flow of a process at market average, instead of a specific process used by a manufacturer. As a result, stockholders are unable to track their supply chain to find out the actual environmental impact from each supplier and to compare the environmental performance of alternative options. In this paper, we developed a new framework i.e., blockchain based LCA (BC-LCA), where block-chain technology is adapted to secure and transmit inventory data from upstream suppliers to downstream manufacturers. With BC-LCA, more specific data can be acquired along the supply chain in a real-time manner. Moreover, the availability, accuracy, privacy, and automatic update of inventory data can be improved. A case study is provided based on an industrial supply chain, to demonstrate the utilization of BC-LCA.

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Life Cycle Assessment of Water in Sport Equine Production in Argentina: A Case Study

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11111084 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 1084

Author(s):

Mariana M. Vaccaro ◽

Alberto García-Liñeiro ◽

Alicia Fernández-Cirelli ◽

Alejandra V. Volpedo

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

High Performance ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Life Cycle Approach ◽

Quality Of Water ◽

Place Of Origin ◽

Management Alternatives ◽

First Time

The application of life cycle assessment method (LCA) to animal production is a methodological option to assess the potential impact of products, services, or production processes in a comprehensive way as it considers both the quantity and quality of water in the life cycle approach. In this paper, the water footprint of jumping sport horses’ production has been determined using the LCA methodology for the first time ever. The results of this paper show that the production of medium- and high-performance sport horses uses a large amount of water. However, modifications to the diet (type and percentage of oils in the supplement, place of origin of feed, etc.) and in the management and destination of waste (animal box beds) can result in a reduction of the water requirement and the environmental impact of production. This type of studies should be developed in different farms in the future in order to give producers management alternatives that improve the sustainability of productions.

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Contribution of Life Cycle Knowledge towards Environmental Performance of ISO 14001 Certified Malaysian Companies: Analysis of ISO 14001 and Selected Life Cycle Management Tools

Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities ◽

10.47836/pjssh.29.4.05 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 2189-2205

Author(s):

Natasha Ashvinee Rajendran ◽

Quiena Lia Anak Jimi ◽

Amir Hamzah Sharaai

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Performance ◽

Material Flow ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Life Cycle Management ◽

Iso 14001 ◽

Management Tools ◽

Flow Cycle ◽

Firm Owners

The ability to enhance environmental performance has emerged as a pivotal corporate strategy for businesses in Malaysia. While the ISO 14001:2015 has been promoted extensively by the Malaysian Department of Standards, its adoption remains low and at a slow pace. There is scarce research to demonstrate the linkage between environmental knowledge, the implementation of life cycle management tools and environmental performance. Therefore, the first aim of this study is to assess the different knowledge levels of respondents on ISO 14001:2015 and four assessment methodologies (i.e., Life Cycle Assessment, Carbon Footprint, Water Footprint, and Material Flow Cycle Accounting). The second aim is to determine whether these knowledge bases contribute to the firms’ environmental performance. A total of 157 ISO-certified firm owners responded to the self-administered questionnaires. A One-Way ANOVA test revealed a difference in knowledge levels, with Life Cycle Assessment having the highest score and Material Flow Cycle Accounting having the lowest. Multiple regression revealed ISO 14001, Material Flow Cycle Accounting, and Carbon Footprint knowledge to contribute to environmental performance significantly. Counterintuitively, Life Cycle Assessment and Water Footprint exerted no significance on environmental performance. Policy implications include information dissemination and training by governmental officials for firm owners and exposure to life cycle management tools.

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