Impact of ice cream production on the environment

Tehnološki procesi proizvodnje hrane mogu imati negativan utjecaj na okoliš. Cilj ovog rada je analizirati utjecaj proizvodnje sladoleda, rastuće grane prehrambene industrije, na okoliš, uključujući i proizvodnju sirovina, skladištenje te transport proizvoda sve do potrošača. Rezultati pokazuju da najveći utjecaj na okoliš u ovome procesu ima proizvodnja sirovina (>70%). Mlijeko kao glavna sirovina za proizvodnju sladoleda ima najveći utjecaj na globalno zagrijavanje, osiromašivanje tla i veliku potrošnju vode te zagađenje voda. Uzgoj kakao zrna ima veliki potencijal globalnog zagrijavanja zbog prenamjene zemljišta. Svaki korak proizvodnje sladoleda utječe na neke segmente u okolišu kao što su: eutrofikacija vode, otisak vode, potrošnja vode, prenamjena zemljišta, globalno zagrijavanje, smanjenje ozonskog omotača, potrošnja energije, gospodarenje otpadom i mnogi drugi. Vrsta sladoleda također ima različit utjecaj na okoliš, pa tako proizvodnja čokoladnog sladoleda u prosjeku ima veći negativan utjecaj na okoliš od proizvodnje sladoleda od vanilije u kategorijama kao što su: eko toksičnost slatke vode i mora, zauzimanje poljoprivrednog zemljišta, iscrpljivanje minerala i potrošnja vode. Tijekom konzumacije jednog od najdražih slastica malo je vjerojatno da potrošači razmišljaju na koje sve načine proizvodnja tog proizvoda utječe na okoliš. S obzirom da proizvodnja sladoleda ne počinje u tvornici sladoleda, već proizvodnjom i transportom sirovina postoji znatan prostor za poboljšanje i napredak svih pojedinačnih procesa od polja do stola, kako bi se negativan utjecaj proizvodnje sladoleda na okoliš smanjio.Technological processes of food production could have a negative impact on the environment. The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of ice cream production, a growing branch of the food industry, on the environment, including the production of raw materials, storage and transportation of products to consumers. The results show that the greatest impact on the environment in this process come from the cultivation and production of raw materials (> 70%). Milk, as the main raw material for ice cream production, has the greatest impact on global warming, soil impoverishment and high water consumption, as well as water pollution. Production of cocoa beans has great potential for global warming due to land conversion. Each step of ice cream production affects some segments in the environment such as: water eutrophication, water footprint, water consumption, land conversion, global warming, ozone depletion, energy consumption, waste management and many others. The type of ice cream also has different environmental impacts, so chocolate ice cream production on average has a greater impact on environment than vanilla ice cream production in categories such as: eco-toxicity of fresh water and sea, occupation of agricultural land, mineral depletion and water consumption. While consuming one of their favourite desserts, consumers are unlikely to think about how the production of that product affects the environment. Since ice cream production does not start in an ice cream factory, but by production and transportation of raw materials, there are a lot of possibilities for improvement and progress of all individual processes from field to table, in order to reduce the negative impact of ice cream production on the environment