Recently, Zhejiang Tsinghua Yangtze River Delta Research Institute released the "Carbon Emission Assessment Report of Plant Protein Beef Cake and Animal Beef Cake of Fu Cuisine Company", marking the advent of the first carbon emission assessment report in the field of food deep processing in China, and also marking the advent of the first plant meat carbon emission measurement report in mainland China. The research targets selected in this report are Eastern Group (600811) Co., Ltd. (600811. SH) plant-based meat company Harbin Fu Cuisine Food Co., Ltd. produces plant-based protein beef cake products.
The first carbon emission assessment report for the whole life cycle of food deep processing in the mainland
In the research work of this report, the researchers used the minimum sales unit of plant protein beef cake 240g (120g×2) as a functional unit to conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the carbon emissions (including greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption) of the whole industrial chain of plant protein beef cake "from cradle to grave" of Fu cuisine company, and the evaluation system involved all aspects of the production of plant protein beef cake, including: agricultural production links, raw materials, packaging materials and product processing links, raw materials, Packaging materials and product storage links, raw materials, packaging materials and product transportation links, product retail links, product consumption links.
The researchers compared the life cycle results of Fu Cuisine's plant-based protein beef patties with animal beef patties. The results show that the carbon emission value of the whole industry chain of plant protein beef cake of Fu Cuisine Company is 3.63 kgCO2eq, the carbon emission value of the whole industry chain of animal beef cake is 35.10 kgCO2eq, and the carbon emission value of the whole industry chain of Plant Protein Beef Cake of Fu Cuisine Company is 10% of the carbon emission value of the whole industry chain of animal beef cake; that is, the carbon emission value of the whole industry chain of Vegetable Protein Beef Cake of Fu Cuisine Company can reduce the carbon emission of the whole industry chain by 90% compared with animal beef cake.
Comparison of carbon emissions results of 240g of Fu cuisine company plant protein beef cake and animal protein beef cake
Cai Qiang, director of the Food and Health Research Institute of Zhejiang Tsinghua Yangtze River Delta Research Institute, said: "The previous lack of carbon emission assessment reports in the field of food deep processing in China was on the one hand because the mainland has not established a corresponding and relatively perfect database, the lack of standardized data accumulation, and the lack of systematic research methods; on the other hand, because the supply chain of food products is too long, it is difficult to obtain first-hand data from planting to consumer consumption. The research method of this report is highly replicable, and in the specific research process, it also overcomes the problem of difficult to obtain carbon emission data in the agri-food industry. ”
The report adopts authoritative basic research data and scientific measurement methods (reflected in the references of the report) to ensure the effectiveness, rationality and referenceability of the Report. The evaluation data of Fu cuisine company's plant protein beef cake is obtained directly from various producers, and the evaluation of animal beef cake refers to the existing, authoritative and highly recognized research data of the industry, including the 2006 IPCC carbon emission inventory guide, the 2021 China Statistical Yearbook, the 2020 China Energy Statistical Yearbook, etc. In terms of measurement methods, the report uses the life cycle assessment method and the emission factor method developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for carbon emission accounting.
"The carbon emission accounting method and process for different products are roughly the same, the product boundary and system boundary are basically determined, but the corresponding raw materials and processing processes are slightly different, so the measurement method is suitable for a variety of deep-processed foods." Jin Shanshan, a researcher at the Food and Health Research Institute of The Yangtze River Delta Research Institute of Tsinghua University in Zhejiang, said.
The carbon emission measurement system of the agri-food industry is the proposition of the times
Under the guidance of the national goal of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality", all industries in the mainland will be transformed into a low-carbon and green direction, and the agri-food industry also needs to be transformed into a green and low-carbon circular development system. At present, the direct problem restricting the agri-food industry from joining the "carbon neutrality" action is that there is no standardized carbon emission measurement model and method, so it is temporarily impossible to carry out carbon trading or create carbon sinks; the agri-food industry has a huge carbon emission reduction space throughout its life cycle, and it is necessary to have quantitative carbon emission measurement data for benchmarking and analysis, so as to achieve optimization for the purpose of carbon emission reduction.
According to statistics, greenhouse gas emissions from agri-food production activities account for about 20% of the national total, and carbon emissions account for about 13% of the country's total carbon emissions, second only to the electricity, energy, and transportation industries. According to conservative estimates, the global population will reach more than 9 billion by 2050, and if the current supply chain efficiency and depletion of the agri-food industry remain the same, food production will need to increase by 70% to feed the entire population. In addition, agricultural production occupies more than 50% of the world's available land and consumes more than 70% of the earth's own freshwater resources. It is foreseeable that reducing carbon emissions from the agri-food industry will be one of the biggest challenges facing the world in the coming decades.
A roadmap for carbon neutrality in the agri-food industry
From the perspective of the life cycle of the agri-food industry, the carbon emissions generated by the industry run through the whole process of planting and breeding production, energy and input use, circulation supply chain, and waste disposal; from the perspective of the proportion of carbon emissions in the global agri-food industry, animal husbandry and fisheries account for 31%, especially the digestion process of ruminants such as cattle, which produces a large number of greenhouse gases; grain production accounts for 27%, mainly animal feed production, fertilizer use; land use accounts for 24%, mainly the land use of livestock and consumer crops The food supply chain accounts for 18%, mainly the energy consumed by food processing, transportation, packaging and retail.
The agri-food industry to achieve "carbon peak carbon neutrality" in an all-round way requires profound and all-round solutions, including innovative agricultural production technologies and methods, reducing supply chain losses, improving eating habits, reducing food waste, and finding low-carbon food, etc. It requires the joint efforts of enterprises and research institutions in the agri-food industry.
Plant-based protein meat leads the new wave of low-carbon food
The Outline for the Development of Food and Nutrition in China (2014-2020) issued by the General Office of the State Council clearly states that "the excellent dietary tradition of mainly plant foods and supplemented by animal foods" is inherited. It is estimated that if the public can optimize the dietary structure while meeting the balanced nutrition of the human body, it will be able to reduce the carbon emissions of that year by 66.21 million tons in 2030.
Plant-based protein meat can be used as an efficient alternative to finished products from animal husbandry and aquaculture. According to public information, plant protein meat can reduce energy consumption by 46% compared with animal protein meat, reduce the impact on water shortage by 99%, and reduce the impact on land use by 93%.
Harbin Fu Cuisine Food Co., Ltd. R & D person in charge said: "Traditional animal husbandry needs a lot of land or water resources for breeding activities, but also needs a lot of plant protein for feed, the average growth cycle of livestock and poultry takes half a year to a year, an average of 5 grams of plant protein can be converted into 1 gram of animal meat; in comparison, plant protein meat has obvious environmental advantages, the production cycle of plant protein meat only takes a few days, 1.5 grams of plant protein can be converted into 1 gram of plant protein meat, and the protein conversion efficiency is very high." That is, we can produce the same amount of energy with less space and resources. ”
Plant-based protein meat can not only solve the shortage of meat products and protein gaps, but also reduce the carbon emissions of the entire agricultural and food industry chain, help the mainland achieve the "double carbon target" and achieve the sustainable development of the agricultural and food industry. The Carbon Emission Assessment Report on Plant Protein Beef Cake and Animal Beef Cake of Fu Cuisine Company also mentions in the conclusion section, "Based on the ratio of beef demand to meat demand by 10%, China's beef gap will reach more than 3.8 million tons in 2030." If the beef gap is all filled with plant protein beef cakes, it will not only solve the shortage of beef in mainland China, but also reduce 497.96 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The carbon dioxide emission rate of a 660 MW supercritical coal-fired unit in a thermal power plant is 58948.389 kg/h at full load, and the 497.96 million tons of carbon dioxide emitted less is equivalent to the emissions of 100 660 MW supercritical coal-fired units in thermal power plants operating at full load for about 10 years; at the carbon trading price of 40 yuan / ton, the 497.96 million tons of CO2 emitted less is equivalent to saving about 20 billion yuan".