Environmental Impact of Fresh Vegetables Supply: A Case-Study in Teresina, Brazil

Abstract

The current study presents an estimated environmental impact of CO2 emissions in the cargo transport process in the road modal, as part of the logistics chain for the distribution of horticultural items, highlighting the production of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), peppers (Capsicum annuum) and cucumbers (Cucumis sativus), from production centers in several Brazilian states to a food distribution center in Teresina, Northeast Brazil. In the next step, we added fresh vegetables purchased by an urban hospital at the distribution center to analyze the city’s food distribution system’s environmental impact. The data used were obtained at the distribution center Nova Ceasa and at an urban hospital to complete the last stage of the food distribution, corresponding to 2019. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) impact values correlated with horticulture production were recovered from the literature related to open-field vegetable crops under similar agricultural conditions. We computed the quantity of vegetables produced on-field, the distances traveled, the on-road transportation fuel, and the environmental impact using the GWP calculator. The study found a wide range of GWP values. From the studies and analyzes, the results indicated that the impact of GWP is greater in the production phase in the field, followed by urban transport except for fresh tomatoes. The tomato results showed greater environmental impact in the transport of more distant products and smaller quantities. Results suggest that crop production and the long traveled distances are the main factors in the environmental impact. We also concluded that the greater the amount of product transported in a trip, the lower the environmental impact.