Q&A

This page provides questions and answers on The Big Climate Database version 1 and supplements the Background report and the Methodology report, both of which are available on the Background Information page.

1. Why do different cuts of meat vary with regard to their climate footprint?

The results for different cuts of meat are based on the climate footprint per DKK of beef, pork or chicken from the slaughterhouse. The results and are then converted to climate footprint per kg of different cuts based on the relative price difference and quantity from the slaughterhouse.

The calculation is per DKK and not per kg because all cuts from a slaughterhouse affect how much meat the slaughterhouse produces. This means that the slaughterhouse will respond by increasing its production when demand increases for both minced meat and tenderloin.

The price of the product sold can be used to determine how much a slaughterhouse will increase its production in response to a change in demand for a given meat cut. When setting their prices for different cuts, slaughterhouses want to make sure, firstly, that they maximise their earnings and, secondly, that they can sell all their meat. Consequently, the price of meat sold, rather than the amount in kg, determines the additional slaughterhouse production induced by a change in demand for a given cut.

The average climate footprint from beef from the slaughterhouse is 50.2 kg CO2e per kg, while the average climate footprint from pork from the slaughterhouse is 4.3 kg CO2e per kg.

The climate footprint from different cuts of beef ranges between 31 kg CO2e per kg for minced beef and 152 kg CO2e per kg for beef tenderloin. Pork ranges between 3 kg CO2e per kg for minced pork and 5.5 kg CO2e per kg for pork tenderloin.

If the choice is between 1 kg of minced beef and 1 kg of beef tenderloin, from a climate point of view, the best choice is 1 kg of minced beef. If the choice is between DKK 100 worth of minced beef and DKK 100 worth of beef tenderloin, there is no difference in terms of climate footprint.

Read more

The allocation of the climate footprint between cuts of meat is described in Chapter 8.1 of the Methodology report.

LCA theory on determining or dependent co‑products

LCA theory on multiple determining products

 

2. Why is the climate footprint expressed per kg of food and not in relation to the nutrient content?

The Big Climate Database expresses the climate footprint per kg food, because this is the most appropriate and practical measure of the climate footprint of food products. However, the nutrient content is stated in the description of each product.

Apart from taste and enjoyment, we eat to feel full and obtain essential nutrients - not to get as many calories, proteins, etc. as possible. When optimising our diet with regard to health and climate, nutrient content is not the only relevant measure. For example, no one buys food just on the basis of calories and protein, and most Danes consume too many nutrients.

Furthermore, recipes and purchases are usually described and registered in terms of the weight of different ingredients and products - not in terms of calories, protein, etc. For example, you buy 1 kg of potatoes, not 20 grams of potato protein.

The only purpose of The Big Climate Database is to shed light on the climate footprint of the food in your shopping cart or in a meal. It is not intended as a help to structure your purchases or design the nutritionally optimal meal. Instead, useful information is available in the official dietary recommendations.

Read more

The purpose and applications of the climate database are described in Chapter 5 of the Background report.

Weidema B P, Stylianou K S (2020). Nutrition in the life cycle assessment of foods – function or impact? The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 25:1210‑1216

3. Why are the results for fish based on the climate footprint of farmed fish?

The purpose of The Big Climate Database is to provide information about the climate impact of food consumption, and ultimately, a change in the demand for fish will affect fish breeding, irrespective of whether the fish was caught at sea or comes from fish farming or aquaculture.

The results for fish are based on internationally recognised studies showing that the quantities of wild seawater catches do not change. There are plenty of fish in the oceans; we just cannot catch more than we already do.

Wild-caught fish and shellfish are generally a limited global resource that cannot be increased because the carrying capacity of ecosystems is fully exploited in almost all parts of the world. An exception is marine molluscs, such as mussels, oysters and octopus, which are abundant.

Statistics from the FAO show that the quantity of wild-caught fish is more or less the same as in the mid-1990s, whereas aquaculture is rapidly increasing and is responsible for meeting most of the increasing demand for fish.

Good fish management can help to increase fish populations, but given that aquaculture constitutes almost 50% of global fish production today, it is hard to see how changes in fish management locally in the EU can lead to significant changes in the global fish market.

Read more

The assumptions behind the climate footprint calculations for fish are described in Chapter 7 of the Methodology report.

4. Does the climate database take account of the large variation in climate footprint for each food product type?

In this first version of The Big Climate Database, we have only calculated the average climate footprint from 500 different food products and beverages. However, each type of food product may vary considerably with regard to its climate footprint depending on the production site, production methods, varieties etc. Examples of variations include:

• Greenhouse vegetables versus outdoor vegetables
• Highly extensive production versus highly intensive production
• Production with highly efficient utilisation of nutrients versus production with major losses of nutrients
• Products with short transport distances versus products with very long transport distances.

The climate impacts from the different production methods for food and beverages on the Danish market are included in the average. However, in order to distinguish between production in Denmark vs. other countries, outdoor production vs. greenhouse production, or extensive production vs. intensive production, it is necessary to make separate calculations for each country, method of production, production system etc.

Consequently, the results in The Big Climate Database do not show the climate footprint of a specific tomato or a specific pork chop in a shop, but rather the average climate footprint for tomatoes and chops on the Danish market.

This makes the climate database a relevant tool for professional food actors and for consumers with a particular interest in viewing and calculating the climate footprint of meals and purchases. Moreover, the database can serve as a relevant benchmark for food producers who want to investigate or document their own production compared with the market standard in terms of climate-friendliness.

5. Is carbon storage in soil included in the climate database results?

No. Storage and sequestration of carbon in soil is not included, but a model is being developed for this purpose, and future versions of the climate database may include this. However, discharges from draining and cultivating organic soils have been included.

6. Does the climate database take account of sustainability factors other than the climate?

No. Other sustainability factors such as biodiversity, the aquatic environment, animal welfare, health, social conditions, etc. have not been taken into account, and of course, these factors ought to be included in the assessment of sustainable food consumption.

However, the climate database provides new and more accurate knowledge about the climate footprint from different product types, and this makes it a very important supplement to Ø-labelled organic products, animal-welfare labels, fair trade labels, etc.

7. Why is it stated that you do not take responsibility for the data presented and its use?

CONCITO and 2.-0 LCA consultants take responsibility for the results, but we cannot rule out that errors may occur in data volumes of this magnitude based on many millions of datapoints. Attempts will be made to correct any errors found in the climate database.

Furthermore, as it is freely available, we have no control of the use of the data material, and consequently, we cannot not take responsibility for its use. Disclaimers of this nature are standard in many open-source databases. For example, they are used by the National Food Institute at the Technical University of Denmark in relation to frida.fooddata.dk.

8. Are two decimal places for the results an expression of high precision, and does 0.00 equal zero climate footprint?

All life cycle assessments are associated with some uncertainty, and this also applies to the results of The Big Climate Database. Therefore, two decimal places in database results should not be interpreted as an expression high precision in calculations of climate footprint from food products. The reason that we use two decimals in the large table on the website is that we want to show the total climate footprint for all products in the range from 0.22 kg CO2e per kg at the low end (mussels) to 151.95 kg CO2e per kg at the high-end (beef tenderloin).

The climate footprint from tap water is expressed as 0.00 in the large table on the website, but actually, the climate footprint has been calculated at around 0.001 kg CO2e per kg. This is reflected in the spreadsheet available for download, where the results have even more decimals.

Read more

The uncertainty of calculations is described in Chapter 2.11 of the Methodology report.

9. Why is the climate footprint from processing certain food products expressed as a negative number?

The negative emissions from processing meat and dairy products, in particular, as well as a few plant products, are due to a displaced climate impact because co-products substitute other production. For example, this could relate to the use of slaughterhouse by-products for meat meal, bone meal and fat, which replace other production of animal feed, fuels, manure and biodiesel.

Read more

LCA theory on determining or dependent co‑products

LCA theory on by‑products, recycling and waste

10. Is the climate database based on research and does it meet scientific standards?

CONCITO is responsible for publication and general communication about The Big Climate Database.

Calculations of climate database results have been performed by experienced experts and are based on generally accepted scientific methods. The experts with primary responsibility are Jannick Schmidt, Stefano Merciai, Ivan Muñoz, Michele De Rosa and Miguel F Astudillo, who have all contributed to several scientific, peer-reviewed publications on life cycle assessments as well as major EU projects within the field.

Read more

A list of publications by the experts is available on the 2.-0 LCA consultants website.