Abstract:

The impact of food production and consumption processes on the environment has become increasingly apparent in the context of ongoing economic development and the environment. Especifically, the issue of greenhouse gas emissions in the life cycle of food has emerged as a major challenge in the realm of climate change and ecological balance. A comprehensive analysis of international and domestic research progress on food life cycle carbon emissions can reveal the research trends and frontier hotspots in this area. By conducting searches in English and Chinese literature databases, including the Web of Science (WoS) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), utilizing the scientific knowledge graph and the CiteSpace literature visualization tool, an in-depth analysis and visual representation were carried out. The results showed that research on carbon emissions from food lifecycle began to emerge internationally in 2003, while domestic attention to the issue began in 2009, and both had exhibited steady growth in their respective research activities. While Chinese research had largely emphasized the food production aspect, international research had taken a more holistic approach, encompassing research on both food production and consumption, the entire food system, and the supply chains. In addition, there was a greater emphasis internationally on the management of carbon emissions within food systems and supply chains, whereas Chinese research was more skewed towards the study of regional disparities. In the future, research on carbon emissions in the food lifecycle was likely to place increased emphasis on the equilibrium between food production and consumption, with emerging industries like food delivery services gaining attention. Regional disparities in food lifecycles’ carbon emissions were crucial for the sustainable development of regional food production and consumption. Hybrid life cycle assessment was poised to become a mainstream research method, with future research comprehensively evaluating multiple aspects of food life cycle carbon emissions. The effectiveness of policies is also set to be a key focus of future research aimed at driving carbon reduction in the food life cycle.

Key words: Food life cycle, Carbon emissions, Sustainable production and consumption, WoS, CNKI