Publication

Comparative study of environmental impacts of imported organic products and regional conventional products – Geneva's case

2009
Student Projects

Abstract

Nowadays, the consumer is worried by his health and by the environmental protection. Two interesting groups, among the others, can be distinguished : persons worried of eating organic products and persons who consume regional products. What about imported organic products? And what about local conventional products? Which environmental impacts have they? The objective of the work was to compare products stemming from the organic farming and imported in Geneva with products stemming from the regional conventional agriculture, where the region is Geneva. Studied products are apple, tomato, wheat and egg. The origin of these organic products is New-Zealand, Netherland, Canada and United Kingdom, respectively. Results show that each production process involves specific impacts. A unique conclusion for all fruits, all vegetables, all cereals or all animal products is not possible. However, for the precise cases studied, we can say that for all products results show that the imported organic products lead more environmental impacts than regional conventional products. For tomato and egg, a production improvement could invert the tendency. For apple and wheat, a transport reduction will decrease environmental impacts. These results lead to some interrogations : Is Local agriculture enough to feed its inhabitants? Is conventional agriculture sustainable?

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/ef9ac19a-1a61-4959-bb59-ffd68b8548ee

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2009
Student Projects

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/ef9ac19a-1a61-4959-bb59-ffd68b8548ee

About this result

Related concepts (32)

Organic farming

Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming, is an agricultural system that uses fertilizers of organic origin such as compost manure, green manure, and bone meal and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting. It originated early in the 20th century in reaction to rapidly changing farming practices. Certified organic agriculture accounts for globally, with over half of that total in Australia. Organic farming continues to be developed by various organizations today.

Organic food

Organic food, ecological food, or biological food are foods and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Organizations regulating organic products may restrict the use of certain pesticides and fertilizers in the farming methods used to produce such products. Organic foods are typically not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or synthetic food additives.

Environmental impact of agriculture

The environmental impact of agriculture is the effect that different farming practices have on the ecosystems around them, and how those effects can be traced back to those practices. The environmental impact of agriculture varies widely based on practices employed by farmers and by the scale of practice. Farming communities that try to reduce environmental impacts through modifying their practices will adopt sustainable agriculture practices.