''Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production: Priority Products and Materials'' is a scientific assessment published in 2010 by the

International Resource Panel The International Resource Panel is a scientific panel of experts that aims to help nations use natural resources sustainably without compromising economic growth and human needs. It provides independent scientific assessments and expert advice on ...

(IRP) of the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

(UNEP). The report assessed the environmental impact of several activities, including food production.

Summary

The report assessed the impact of economic activities on the environment. It identified that the most critical impacts are related to

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

health, human health and

resource depletion Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources are commonly divided between renewable resources and non-renewable resources (see also mineral resource classification). Use of either ...

. From a combined production, consumption and materials perspective, the authors found that the production of food and all processes involving fossil fuels had the greatest impacts. Animal products caused more damage than producing construction

minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed ...

such as sand or

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

, plastics or

metals A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typical ...

. Currently, more than half the world's crops are used to feed animals. In America, more than one-third of the fossil fuels produced are used to raise animals for food. The authors explained that Western dietary preferences for meat would be unsustainable as the world population rose to the forecast 9.1 billion by 2050. Demand for meat is expected to double by this date; meat consumption is steadily rising in countries such as China that once followed more sustainable, vegetable-based diets. According to the report: "Impacts from agriculture are expected to increase substantially due to population growth, increasing consumption of animal products. Unlike fossil fuels, it is difficult to look for alternatives: people have to eat. A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products."

Role of the IRP

The IRP provides independent scientific assessments and expert advice on a variety of areas, including: *the volume of selected raw material reserves and how efficiently these resources are being used *the lifecycle-long environmental impacts of products and services created and consumed around the globe *options to meet human and economic needs with fewer or cleaner resources.

References

{{Reflist

External links

www.resourcepanel.org

www.unep.org

The report
United Nations Environment Programme