Can the commercial cultivation of wild edible species contribute to sustainable food production? A case study of golden thistle (Scolymus hispanicus L.)
Journal
International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
Date Issued
January 6, 2025
DOI
10.1007/s11367-024-02418-3
Abstract
Purpose: Sustainable development goals are highly linked to food systems and there is an urgent need for mitigating the environmental impact of food production. Currently, the integration of wild edible species in commercial farming systems has been suggested as a climate change mitigation measure. However, the environmental impact of such species is scarcely investigated. This study is the first to report the environmental footprint (EF) of golden thistle (Scolymus hispanicus), using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Methods: The analysis was based on a field experiment plus flows and processes from the Agribalyse database. The ReCiPe midpoint (H) method was used for the impact assessment (18 impact categories). The declared unit was 1 ton of golden thistle (cradle-to-farm gate), where inputs used for the production in the field were considered (e.g., machinery, irrigation, fertilizers). For the cradle-to-grave approach field practices, packaging, transportation, cooking and waste disposal were considered. For the comparison of golden thistle with spinach (cradle-to-farm gate), the declared unit was 1 kg of product fresh weight. For the nutritional LCA (NLCA), the declared units were 1 kg of GAE (Gallic acid equivalents), 1 kg of Ca and 1 kg of Mg (micronutrients), proxies for nutritional and health aspects. Results and discussion: Water consumption (WC), fossil resource scarcity (FRS), freshwater eutrophication (FEU) and global warming (GW) had the highest values per ton of golden thistle; cradle-to-farm-gate, in the scenario of full irrigation. Packaging, transportation to the local market, cooking and waste disposal increased FRS and FEU while the farm practices mainly contributed to the WF and GW. Spinach shows lower impacts when compared to golden thistle (1 ton; cradle-to-farm-gate). Golden thistle performs better when the comparison is based on impacts per kg of GAE (Gallic Acid Equivalents), kg Ca and kg of Mg (nutrients). Our results showed that golden thistle could be an alternative from a nutritional and environmental point of view, only if cultivated under low inputs and sold in local markets. Conclusions: This work contributes to the environmental impact assessment of food production, focusing on wild plant species cultivation under different scenarios and considering declared units related to NLCA, to capture nutritional and health aspects. The integration of wild edible species such as S. hispanicus in small-scale farms of the Mediterranean basin could be valuable for sustainable food systems design.