Life Cycle Assessment of Food

Life cycle assessment is an effective tool in assessing the environmental performance of product or process or service. Life cycle assessment is a "cradle-to-grave" approach for assessing industrial systems. It means that assessment starts from the extraction of raw material from the ground and end at a point where final waste or used product is returned to the ground; therefore cradle-to-grave approach avoids 'problem shifting'. Global warming is a serious and far-reaching challenge facing us. Global temperature is increasing and human activities are the primary cause. The food industry is one of the world's largest industrial sectors and hence, a large consumer of energy which leads to environmental pollution. It is, thus, essential to evaluate the environmental impact and the utilization of resources in food production and distribution systems for sustainable consumption. The review involves the identification of best available practice in establishing a database for the life cycle inventory phase, and a list of environmental impact categories and accompanying factors to address these impact categories.