Abstract
In this work, the main direct environmental impacts of the food industry, as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the agro-food system in industrialized countries, were pointed out. A simple and stepwise approach, based on the mere assessment of the product Carbon Footprint (CF), was used to improve the sustainability of small- and medium-sized food and drink enterprises before analyzing the impact of other impact categories than climate change. By applying previously developed LCA models, the cradle-to-grave carbon footprint of dry pasta and malt beer was estimated and practically halved by resorting to a series of mitigation options. A cost/benefit analysis is required to assess the feasibility of each selected option.
