title: Invited review: Environmental impacts of dairy processing and products: a review.
abstract: The objective of this review is to summarize research efforts and case studies to date of the environmental impacts from dairy processing. The pervasiveness of greenhouse gas emission, water use, consumer waste, and other environmental impacts of dairy are described. An outline of the method of choice, the life cycle assessment, for conducting research and deciding appropriate allocation of the impacts is provided. Specific research examples in dairy processing highlight how the representative final product is associated with environmental impacts to air, water, and land. The primary conclusion from the study was the usefulness of life cycle assessment methodology and the need for further research due to limited studies, variable data, and the magnitude of environmental impact.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA. milani@wisc.edu
authors.forename: F X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Milani
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nutter
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thoma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003611:Dairy Products; D003612:Dairying; D004777:Environment; D005525:Food-Processing Industry; D017752:Greenhouse Effect; D008892:Milk; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014881:Water Supply