VITICULTURE LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF WHOLE GRAPE JUICE

Abstract

Sustainability in agriculture and food processing has attracted great attention from conscious consumers who show a critical and analytical profile focused on environmental practices. Thus, the objective of this research is to evaluate the impacts caused by grape production in the conventional system for the production of whole juice by the approach of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The data from the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) were collected through a questionnaire in a property located in the municipality of Marialva in the interior of the state of Paraná/BR and the following stages of viticulture production were taken into account – fertilization, protection against diseases and pests, logistics, labor and harvesting. It was found that viticulture is responsible for emitting several greenhouse gases that contribute to the generation of potential environmental impacts and degradation of the quality of natural resources. Among the components of the viticulture inventory in the property under study, synthetic fertilizers in viticulture were responsible for impacts in the largest number of impact categories, followed by fuels and pesticides. In order to achieve sustainability, changes are necessary in the way the crop is managed to reduce the impacts derived from activities such as the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.