Every person emits the equivalent of approximately two tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from the time food is produced to when the human body excretes it, representing more than 20pc of total yearly emissions, a new study has said. Study by the Universidad de Almerma says, confirming for the first time that human excrements contribute to water pollution, primarily with nitrogen and phosphorus.
A team of researchers from the Universidad de Almerma (UAL) has estimated the environmental impact of the Spanish diet and role that human excrements play in the life cycle of food. It is the first time that a scientific study of this type incorporates the role played by human excrements.
"Food in Spain produces emissions of around two tonnes of carbon dioxide per person and per year (more than 20 pc of total emissions per person and per year) and consumes 20 gigajoules of primary energy," main author of the study and researcher at the UAL Ivan Munoz told SINC.
The study analyses the relationship of the food production and consumption chain with global warming and the acidification and eutrophication (excess of nutrients) of the environment, taking what a person in Spain ate in 2005 (881 kilograms) as a reference.
Calculations included agricultural and animal production, industrial food processing, sale and distribution, preparation and cooking at home, solid waste treatment (food remains and packaging), as well as human excretion.
According to the study, producing food from animals, such as meat and dairy products, causes the greatest impact. Agriculture, livestock, fishing and the food industry are the greatest source of carbon dioxide water pollution, but in both cases the effects of human excretion (through breathing or due to waste water treatment) are next on the list.
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The researcher makes the point that returning these wastewaters to the environment is not a bad thing in itself, as they are nutrients, just like manure is reused as fertiliser in agriculture.
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As regards emissions, "human excrements have a net null effect on global warming, as they are offset by carbon fixation in photosynthesis. As a result, they do not contribute to increasing the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere".
The study has been published recently in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.
Source-ANI