System analysis of the environmental impact of foodstuffs production
Developing and using LCA data, coupled with a systems approach, our aim is to improve the efficiency of foodstuffs production systems from earth to table in both environmental and economic terms. Through our wholly owned subsidiary company, the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology (SIK), we have access to world-leading competence in methods of life cycle analysis, particularly for areas specifically concentrated on foodstuffs, such as marine products.SIK also possesses an extensive LCA data base for a large number of products, putting us in a unique position to analyse production systems to identify potentials for improvement, to assess the effects of selection of raw materials by industry, and to reveal consumers' consumption patterns.
SIK’s extensive experience and expertise in the foodstuffs sector include product safety and quality, which are central to system analyses of foodstuffs production, as they can be regarded as basic determinant factors or a type of boundary condition. In recent year, competition for the use of land for foodstuffs or for energy crops has increasingly come to the fore, which means that our research is closely linked to the work of agricultural and energy systems scientists.