Food and nutrition are more than just eating; it is about culture, identity, lifestyle and, nowadays, also sustainability. Assessing the sustainability of agrifood systems and promoting dialogue and the exchange of knowledge on food sustainability is precisely the aim of the 14th International Conference LCA FOOD 2024, which will take place from 8 to 12 September in the Historic Building of the University of Barcelona.
Establishing a healthier, more sustainable and socially fair food system is a pending challenge worldwide. This challenge is linked to changes such as more sustainable lifestyles, better eating habits and choices, new industrial-scale production models, more efficient use of natural resources, responsible consumption and waste reduction to avoid environmental degradation. It is therefore crucial to act to further transform food systems towards more sustainable and healthy food systems that respect local food traditions and culture.
The new edition of this conference will focus on sustainable food systems for a healthy diet. The opening ceremony will take place on Monday 9 September at 9.00 a.m., with the participation of Mercè Segarra, Vice-Rector for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Transfer of the UB; Josep Usall, Director of the Institute for Research and Technology in Food and Agriculture (IRTA), and Montserrat Nuñez, President of the conference and member of IRTA.
The meeting will focus on Life Cycle Assessment and will bring together around 450 experts and professionals from academia, the private sector and public organizations from all over the world. It is promoted by an organizing committee headed by Montserrat Nuñez (IRTA) and Mariluz Latorre and Maria Carmen Vidal, from the UB’s Torribera Food Campus and the Institute for Research in Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA).
The production, distribution and consumption of food have an undeniable environmental footprint. Current food consumption and forecasts of future needs on a global scale draw a vicious circle that requires producing more, with the consequent impact on the environment and planetary health, which is aggravated by the current context of climate change.
Sustainability assessment through life cycle analysis is an approach that identifies all processes along value chains that are determinant from an environmental perspective. This view helps to critically analyse the sustainability of current food systems in order to help them improve their ability to build a healthy planet.
One of the most important focal points of the scientific summit will be to integrate nutritional aspects into the life cycle analysis of food — a highly topical issue — as a decisive element in improving decision-making related to healthy and sustainable diets. This topic will be the focus of most sessions at the conference, with three blocks of parallel sessions on 9 September (Aula Magna), a discussion session and recommendations on 11 September (Chapel).
