Environmental Impact and Nutritional Improvement of Elevated CO 2 Treatment: A Case Study of Spinach Production

Yuna Seo, Keisuke Ide, Nobutaka Kitahata, Kazuyuki Kuchitsu and Kiyoshi Dowaki
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Yuna Seo: Department of Industrial Administration, Tokyo University of Science, Noda 278-8510, Japan
Keisuke Ide: Department of Industrial Administration, Tokyo University of Science, Noda 278-8510, Japan
Nobutaka Kitahata: Department of Industrial Administration, Tokyo University of Science, Noda 278-8510, Japan
Kazuyuki Kuchitsu: Department of Industrial Administration, Tokyo University of Science, Noda 278-8510, Japan
Kiyoshi Dowaki: Department of Industrial Administration, Tokyo University of Science, Noda 278-8510, Japan

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 10, 1-9

Abstract: The agriculture sector is known to be the one of the major contributors to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At the same time, global climate changes have affected the agriculture sector. In order to strengthen the sustainable development of agriculture, it is important to promote environmentally friendly farming and simultaneously increase the economic value. To improve the productivity of agriculture, technical advancements have occurred. Among those, we have focused on CO 2 treatment in cultivation. We aimed to clarify the effectiveness of the elevated CO 2 treatment of spinach based on GHG emission and the economic value using the eco-efficiency score. We assumed that nutrition could represent the value of the vegetable. We measured weights, vitamin C, and CO 2 emissions of elevated CO 2 treatment and conventional production. We used life cycle assessment (LCA) to estimate CO 2 emissions. CO 2 emissions of a 100-g bouquet of spinach were estimated from agricultural inputs, farming, transport, and distribution center processes at a model spinach farm in Japan. CO 2 emission of elevated CO 2 treatment was 29.0 g-CO 2 , and was 49.0 g-CO 2 for conventional production. The net weight of a bouquet of elevated CO 2 -treated spinach was 1.69-fold greater than that of conventional production. Vitamin C per 100 g spinach produced via elevated CO 2 treatment was 15.1 mg, and that of conventional production was 13.5 mg on average. Finally, based on the above results, we assessed the eco-efficiency scores of the elevated CO 2 treatment and conventional production of spinach, enabling integration of the nutritional value and the environmental impact. The score showed that elevated CO 2 treatment (0.76) was 2.9-fold more efficient than conventional production (0.26). This study suggested that elevated CO 2 treatment could enhance growth and nutritional value of spinach, and further contribute to CO 2 reduction.

Keywords: LCA; elevated CO2 treatment; spinach; vitamin C; eco-efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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