Proposal of the Index of Environmental Burden and Health Information

Abstract

The current agricultural product would cause the global warming problem, because the much of chemical fertilizer and the longer transportation should be required. This means that the visualization of eco-burden on basis of LCA might play an important role. That is, due to the suitable index, the consumer and/or supplier can understand environmental performances. In general, the consumer would pay attention to the cost and/or nutrient contents besides eco-burden. Under this circumstance, the multiple indices by which various preferences are identified are useful. In this paper, the multiple indices are proposed to develop the sustainable agricultural products which contribute to the abatement of eco-burden. This index consists of CO₂ equivalent emissions, food miles, nutritional quality, food safety and taste. Here, using leaf lettuce cultivated in the open air or the greenhouse as an example, the multiple indices with a symbol mark for identifying various preferences are proposed.