Research Information System
International Global Climate Changce Congress, Çanakkale, Turkey, 3 - 05 June 2021, pp.230
Climate change is a cause of the high levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide
(CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), ozone (O3), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and hydro fluorocarbons
(HCFCs) are the important GHGs. Carbon footprint is calculated as the total GHGs emitted during the human
life of activity, expressed as CO2 equivalent (CO2eq). It provides an estimate of the environment the human
damage. According to the World Health Organization, despite COVID-19 setbacks, global greenhouse gas
emissions have increased in 2020. The changing climate with increasing greenhouse gas would cause significant
losses in the economy, environment, and human life in the absence of effective prevention. For this reason, the main
sources of greenhouse gases should be determined, and measures should be taken to reduce them. Food production
accounts for 30% of the world's total GHGs emissions and has a significant impact on the environment. The
primary reason for the environmental impact of the food chain, dairy industries, and meat processing is that they
are known to be high energy consumers. However, 3-4% of the global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are
estimated to be caused by milk production. Especially, raw milk production contributes significantly to the carbon
footprint of dairy production. The determinants of the carbon footprint of dairy production are livestock and raw
milk, processing (clarification, separation, pasteurization, evaporation, filling, fermentation, cooling and chilling,
packaging, etc.), storage and transportation. However, the impact of these determinants on the carbon footprint
can vary depending on different factors, such as the production system, and geographical area. This review aims
to define the role and determinants of dairy production in the carbon footprint. There are limited number of studies
on the impact of dairy industry on carbon footprint in the literature. Further studies on the environmental impact
analysis of the production of dairy products at various scales and products are required.