Environmental analysis of the conventional and organic production of carrot in Poland

The increasing global human population requires providing a larger amount of food, including vegetables. This, in turn, leads to increased intensity of production, which impacts the environment. The paper contains a comparative analysis of the technologies of conventional and organic carrot production in the context of their impact on the natural environment. The environmental analysis was carried out using a standardized global Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. The research was conducted for carrot plantations in the south of Poland, a part of the country which is one of the main producers of this vegetable in Europe; the region in question is characterised by a very large area where the carrot is grown. The 'cradle-to-gate' approach was adopted, given the fact that at this stage of production there are significant differences related to the technologies used for both systems of cultivation. The cultivation area (1 ha) was adopted as the main functional unit. For the purpose of a more extensive analysis, selected final results were additionally compared against the yield (1 t). In order to determine the environmental correlations of all the inputs and outputs included in the LCA research and to estimate their impact on the environment, the SimaPro ver. 8.1.0.60 application was used. The cultivation area (1 ha) was adopted as the main functional unit. For the purpose of a more extensive analysis, selected final results were additionally compared against the yield (1 t). (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.