The life cycle of rice: LCA of alternative agri-food chain management systems in Vercelli (Italy)

• Published in: Journal of environmental management Vol. 90; no. 3; pp. 1512 - 1522
• Main Authors: Blengini, Gian Andrea, Busto, Mirko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2009; Elsevier; Academic Press Ltd
• Subjects: Agribusiness; Agricultural management; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Algorithms; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Capital goods; Carbon emissions; Conservation of Natural Resources; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Crop production; Customers; Energy consumption; Environment; Environment and sustainable development; Environmental impact; Environmental impact studies; Environmental Pollution; Environmental Pollution - prevention & control; Exports; Farming; Food chains; Food Industry; Food processing industry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Irrigation; Irrigation water; Italy; Life cycle analysis; Life cycle assessment; Life cycles; Organic farming; organic production; Oryza; Oryza sativa; prevention & control; Rice; Sustainability; Sustainable agriculture; Sustainable development; Italy; Life cycle assessment; Capital goods; Sustainable agriculture; Organic farming; Rice; Trophic chain; Life cycle; Organic agriculture; Ecobalance; Vercelli Italy; Environmental management
• ISSN: 0301-4797; 1095-8630
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.10.006

The Vercelli rice district in northern Italy plays a key role in the agri-food industry in a country which accounts for more than 50% of the EU rice production and exports roughly 70%. However, although wealth and jobs are created, the sector is said to be responsible for environmental impacts that are increasingly being perceived as topical. As a complex and comprehensive environmental evaluation is necessary to understand and manage the environmental impact of the agri-food chain, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been applied to the rice production system: from the paddy field to the supermarket. The LCA has pointed out the magnitude of impact per kg of delivered white milled rice: a CO 2eq emission of 2.9 kg, a primary energy consumption of 17.8 MJ and the use of 4.9 m 3 of water for irrigation purposes. Improvement scenarios have been analysed considering alternative rice farming and food processing methods, such as organic and upland farming, as well as parboiling. The research has shown that organic and upland farming have the potential to decrease the impact per unit of cultivated area. However, due to the lower grain yields, the environmental benefits per kg of the final products are greatly reduced in the case of upland rice production and almost cancelled for organic rice. LCA has proved to be an effective tool for understanding the eco-profile of Italian rice and should be used for transparent and credible communication between suppliers and their customers.