The human factor | Ice softness for taste buds… and for the environment?

“What is the environmental impact of ice cream?” And are there better choices than others? Consequently, Asks Lysis.

Posted at 5:00 a.m.

For many. Furthermore, summer is synonymous with picnics in parks, dip in the pool and creamy trips to taste a very refreshing ice cream.

But among the crowd of possible choices, some are softer for the planet than others. Nevertheless, And not just a little.

When you break down the different impacts of ice cream. In addition, from its manufacture to its storage through its refrigerated transport, a parameter dominates everything else.

“It is always the ingredients that have the most impact. Meanwhile, ” said Catherine Houssard, analyst at the International Reference Center on life cycle analysis and sustainable transition (CIRAIG).

The impact of milk and cream – Human factor | ice softness

The first ingredient that weighs in the balance is dairy products.

“It takes 5 liters of milk to make 1 kg of ice cream,” emphasizes Catherine Houssard. Moreover, This is what makes the biggest impact. However, »»

The imprint of dairy products contained in the ice is mainly attributable to cow farming – either the “rots” they produce during their digestion. Moreover, managing their manure and the production of food to feed them.

By choosing an ice cream made from Quebec milk. we can limit this impact, because human factor | ice softness the cows of Quebec produce milk with a particularly low footprint compared to the rest of the world.

However, the best option for the environment is to go to vegetable ice cream, says the researcher. But not all of them are worth.

The ingredients hiding the forest

“Ice cream is still a complex product,” recalls Catherine Houssard. To have the same smoothness without dairy products, you have to be ingenuity! »»

To make vegan ice cream. the solution found by manufacturers is to replace milk and cream with a vegetable fat – typically, palm, coconut or canola oil.

The problem is that according to their origin, these oils can contribute to deforestation. For the same reason. “as soon as there is coffee, chocolate or vanilla, it human factor | ice softness can greatly increase the impact,” she said.

By choosing an ice cream that is both vegan. with certification without deforestation, such as Rainforest Alliance, you can go as far as the imprint of her ice cream, by comparison with a classic ice cream, estimates the researcher.

But ideally, it is better to turn to human factor | ice softness sorbets, since these essentially contain fruit, sugar and water. They therefore generally have a reduced impact compared to dairy ingredients and vegetable fats.

For the researcher. the icing on the cake would be to choose a sorbet made from local, organic and seasonal fruits – or even fruit which, otherwise, would have been thrown, to help fight against food waste, as does the LOOP company for its fruit juices.

“It would be human factor | ice softness a very good choice to reduce the impact of food waste,” says Catherine Houssard.

Human factor | ice softness

And the rest?

The ice cream. the sorbet being foods that must remain frozen, the imprint of their transport and their storage is not negligible.

They of course require energy to be kept cold throughout the logistics chain – one can think. for example, of the energy used to maintain the frozen frozen rays at the grocery store.

The type of refrigerant gas used in freezers can also make a difference on the final impact of icy dessert. some having a much higher carbon footprint than others, underlines the researcher.

And transport can possibly play since it is done by refrigerated truck – so. more reason to choose human factor | ice softness a local ice cream. “But it is never the majority of the impact,” notes Catherine Houssard.

Finally. between a cornet ice cream and a potted ice cream, the difference is quite negligible – just like the choice of packaging. “It can represent, as much as possible, 10 % of the impact,” said the researcher. “This is not where we can make a difference as a consumer. Additionally, »»

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