An Appraisal of Carbon Footprint of Milk from Commercial Grass-Based Dairy Farms in Ireland According to a Certified Life Cycle Assessment Methodology

Grass-based dairy production is a key agricultural industry in some developed nations, particularly Ireland and New Zealand. The dairy sector internationally, however, is also an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, responsible for approximately 3% of global emissions (Opio et al. 2013), 10% of Ireland’s emissions and up to 20% of New Zealand emissions (Beukes et al. 2010; Deighton et al. 2010). Climate change caused by GHG emissions has become an important political issue. This

has led to growing awareness amongst consumers of the potential adverse effects of climate change, which is expected to increase the demand for food products that generate low GHG emissions (Roy et al. 2009). In light of this anticipated demand, major retailers (e.g. Tesco and Wal-Mart) have already put in place sustainability programs to monitor emissions associated with the production of their food products. Therefore, quantifying GHG emissions from all milk-producing nations is becoming a pre-requisite, but especially for countries like Ireland, which export the majority (85%) of their dairy products (CSO 2013).