The Carbon Footprints of Beef and Lamb: A Lifecycle Approach to Measuring the Sustainability of New Zealand's Primary Produce

Carbon footprints show the carbon impacts of food products. They are argued here to reflect these impacts more accurately than 'food miles'. New Zealand research has shown that our major primary sectors are more efficient in terms of carbon dioxide emissions than their British equivalents over the farming and shipping stages of the lifecycle. However, little research has examined other stages, such as road and rail freight and meat processing within New Zealand. Furthermore, the agro-food sector only has partial knowledge about its greenhouse gas  GHG) emissions from 'farm gate to plate' and is not yet fully prepared to implement GHG mitigation strategies. The aims of this study are to 1) calculate the carbon footprints of beef and lamb produced and consumed in New Zealand using a lifecycle approach (including all GHGs), and 2) evaluate, through key stakeholder interviews, the applicability of the carbon footprint concept to New Zealand for addressing consumer environmental concerns. The calculations show that the GHG footprints (all GHGs) of beef and lamb are comprised, for the most part, of on-farm methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Domestic and international freight contribute less than 5% to these footprints, and data from a case study of two meat processing plants suggest that meat processing emissions contributes even less than freight emissions. When leaving aside on-farm methane and nitrous oxide emissions, meat processing and freight contribute less than half to the carbon dioxide (CO2) footprints. Interviews conducted for this study show that key stakeholder attitudes to these issues are varied. Responses from government representatives centred on the need to support the agro-food sector in responding to foreign market demands; the response from industry was mixed but suggests that it is prepared to account for its GHG emissions, showing a preference for carbon footprints over food miles. Environmental NGOs warned that there are risks to New Zealand if it continues to rely on a 'clean green' image mostly due to its natural comparative advantage, and fails to account for its emissions.