NUTRITIONAL LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT: A PARADOX OR A PATHWAY TO SUSTAINABLE AGRO-FOOD SYSTEMS?

A comprehensive sustainability assessment of food products requires a framework that effectively captures the complex interplay between nutritional value and environmental impact, encompassing both planetary-health and human well-being. This dual focus is becoming increasingly relevant: it can happen that foods with exceptional nutritional benefits may still come with substantial environmental costs. Conversely, foods with lower environmental impacts might not offer optimal nutritional value. The challenge, therefore, is to achieve a balance between consuming foods that are both healthy and sustainable. Despite the extensive literature on the environmental impacts of food production and consumption – often assessed through life cycle assessment (LCA) – there remains a notable gap in integrating nutritional aspects into these evaluations. This paper aims to address this gap by exploring the application of nutritional life cycle assessment (n-LCA), an emerging tool designed to incorporate nutritional information into the traditional LCA framework. Given its novelty, this paper discusses both the potential benefits and limitations of n-LCA. A practical case study from a specific food group is presented to support this discussion, particularly in terms of selecting the most appropriate functional unit and highlights the importance of utilising such tools. The findings suggest that n-LCA provides a more holistic framework for evaluating food system sustainability, offering a deeper understanding of the trade-offs between health and environmental sustainability, and thereby facilitating more informed decision-making in food production and consumption.