Use of Environmental Life Cycle Assessment to Evaluate Alternative Agricultural Production Systems

LCA is an environmental management tool for assessing the comprehensive environmental impacts of products, processes and activities. Assessment is undertaken along the life cycle from extraction of raw materials, through processing, manufacturing, transportation, use and on to final disposal. This is illustrated by reference to a study of breadmaking wheat production where the relative environmental impacts of conventional versus less intensive agricultural production systems are compared. Use of life cycle thinking helps to focus attention on “hot spots” for optimising the environmental performance of systems, and broadens the debate to include the wider environmental impacts of alternatives.