Summary
This commentary synthesises six years of methodological development in nutritional LCA conducted by Rothamsted Research's 'Soil-to-Nutrition' programme. The work draws on high-resolution agronomical data from long-term experiments and the North Wyke Farm Platform to advance how human nutritional outcomes are incorporated into life cycle assessment of farming systems, particularly for ruminant livestock and grassland systems. The authors conclude with proposed future pathways for methodological development across entire agri-food supply chains.
UK applicability
The research is directly applicable to UK farming practice and policy, being conducted on UK long-term experimental sites and national research infrastructure. The methodological framework developed may inform UK agricultural sustainability assessments and food systems policy.
Key measures
Nutritional life cycle assessment metrics; methodological approaches to incorporating human nutrition in environmental footprinting
Outcomes reported
The paper synthesises methodological advances in nutritional LCA (nLCA) developed during a 6-year strategic research programme, with application to ruminant livestock, grassland/forage systems, and arable production. It discusses integration of human nutrition into environmental footprinting across agri-food supply chains.
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