Speakers
Description
The trend towards a more plant-based diet and growing concerns about climate change have led to an increasing interest in dairy alternatives in the last years. With a 56% share of the total milk alternatives market, oat milk is currently the most popular plant-based milk in Germany (BMEL 2023). However, the area of oat cultivation in Germany has decreased by almost 40% in the last 20 years: from 230,000 ha in 2001 to 140,000 ha in 2023(AMI 2012; Statistisches Bundesamt 2024). At the same time, only 30% of the oat processed in German mills are of German origin (Müller and Voigt 2023). This gap between the decreasing oat cultivation area and the increasing demand for oat milk in Germany is huge and largely compensated by the international oat trade.
In the TRIP project (in German:Treibhausgasreduktion durch innovative Züchtungsfortschritte bei alternativen pflanzlichen Proteinquellen) we investigate the whole value chain of oat milk (see Fig.1) and apply Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) to assess the status quo of the environmental and economic performance of oat cultivation, processing and oat milk production in Germany. In addition, we conduct a scenario analysis of different greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation options throughout the whole value chain. We aim to provide different stakeholders in the value chain with a better understanding of different GHG mitigation options and their impacts on GHG emissions and costs, so that stakeholders can make better decisions towards a more sustainable oat milk production.
The main stages in the value chain of oat milk were identified as breeding, cultivation, processing in the mill, production, and sales and consumption. The scope for an integrated LCA-LCC analysis covers the partial value chain from oat cultivation up to the gate of the oat milk producer. The GHG emission of oat cultivation in Germany is modeled with DSSAT and in a mixed model considering different influences of cultivars, management and environment. Input and output informations from oat processing in the mill and oat milk production are collected through questionnaires. We aim to quantify the individual contributions of the cultivation, processing and production stages to the total GHG emissions and costs of 1 liter oat milk. In this way, hotspots and opportunities for improvement for oat milk in terms of reducing GHG emissions and costs will be identified for further scenario analysis.
Scenario analysis will then extend the scope of the value chain analysis up to breeding at the beginning and down to the consumer at the end of the value chain. It will assess the potential of different oat origins, packaging and new varieties to reduce GHG emissions and costs. These potentials will be quantified and ranked according to the economic cost of reducing a unit of GHG emissions. The final result are expected in July 2024.
References:
AMI (2012): Markt Bilanz, Getreide, Ölsaaten, Futtermittel.
BMEL (2023): Forschungsfelder: Proteine - Echte Perlen.
Müller, Franzine; Voigt, Katharina (203): Regionale Haferprodukte für Sachsen. 4. Bio-Treff Verarbeitung & Qualität.
Statistisches Bundesamt (2024): Ernte-und Betriebsbericht: Feldfrüchte und Grünland.
| Keywords | Oat milk, value chain, LCA-LCC, Scenario analysis |
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