Can a protein production index optimize land use?Anna Woodhouse MSc, PhDSIANI Network young researchers meeting, Gothenburg June 7-8

SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden

Summary

Protein Production Index New methodology- not there yet

Aim to identify a measure that describes how efficiently a food production system utilizes the land to produce protein for human consumption

Introduction Several issues with land use

Changed the Earths radiative forcing Main driver of biodiversity degradation Inappropriate land managament reducing biological

production capacity of soil 1

1 Mila I Canals et al., 2007, Key elements in a framework for land use impact assessment within LCA. Int J Life Cycle Assess 12:5–15

Introduction In Life Cycle Assessment

Land transformation-Land Use Change (LUC) phase of transformation is relatively short, and the temporal

dimension is neglected

Land occupation land is used in the intended productive way (e.g. arable field) properties of a piece of land are maintained (e.g. the regrowth

of forest is avoided on an arable field)

Introduction Protein supply for human nutrition- major challenge

Significant environmental impact both animal and vegetable protein

Different resource inputs for different proteins

Ruminants capability to digest roughage feed

Feed produced on pastures-land unsuitable for protein production for human consumption

The problem

m2/kg food is often reported as an indicator of resource use does not capture the difference in land quality used in different food production systems

Simple- similar to water index used in LCA

Protein Production Index (PPI) – How? Example: Production of 1 kg of chicken protein requires x m2 land in the region of Västra Götaland and

y m2 in Matto Grosso in Brazil.

What could have been produced on this land instead?

PPI = 1 kg protein from chicken / X kg protein from alternative production on the land

Need some kind of neutral reference…

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Protein production Index (PPI) – How? continued Tried to explore if NPP0 was possible as a neutral reference, NPP0 = ’wild’ net

primary production (g C/m2)

Data availability was difficult, difficult to translate to protein

Chosen wholegrain bread as the reference, made from the most common bread crop in the region

Reference in chicken example: bread from winter wheat for land in VGR and bread from corn for the land in Brazil

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5 Chicken example

PPIchicken = 1 kg protein from chicken x PQIchicken

(X kg protein from cornbread x PQIcorn bread + Y kg protein from wheat bread x PQIwheatbread )

From land in Brazil From land in VGR

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Assumptions

The alternative production is applied to arable land using average crop yields in the region

For land used for grazing on arable and ley the yield is adjusted (average crop yield is lowered by 10%)

Land used for semi-natural pasture grazing is considered not to have an alternative protein production, which ’favours’ milk and beef

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Results

Bread Chicken filet

Minced pork

Minced beef

Milk Pea soup

020406080

100120140160

'Actual' land use [m2a/kg protein]

Seminatural pastureSoybeanLey & cultivated pastureCropland

Protein Production Index

Bread Chicken filet

Minced pork

Minced beef

Milk Pea soup0.00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.9

Protein index

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Pros: The PPI gives information about land use that takes into account quality of the land

Cons: Using bread as a reference is not 100% objective, and bread is not a common food

everywhere in the world (e.g. not in China)

Common reflection is ’why not use a protein crop as the reference? (even more difficult to chose a protein crop objectively in different regions – or perhaps not?)

Conclusions

Thank you for your attention!