The environmental impact of ‘superfoods’: a space for debate and joint reflection

The so-called ‘superfoods’ have become a trend in recent years due to their high nutritional content and health benefits, presenting unique solutions to food insecurity. However, other target problems, such as environmental issues, should not be underestimated, as the food sector accounts for about 26% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For this reason, the present study focuses on this variable of sustainability, and attemps to make a review of the environmental impacts of the production and consumption of superfoods. For this purpose, a revision of studies addresing the life cycle assessment (LCA) of these type of products was carried out, with the ultimate goal of identifying their environmental benefits compared to the most common and consumible foods, and the major challenges addresing their study. The bibliographic search showed that virtually no articles globally evaluate their performance, but there is a slightly growing trend in the number of LCA studies of specific superfoods that are becoming fashionable, e.g., spirulina or quinoa. Nevertheless, this lack of information leads to a failure to draw certain conclusions. Althouth it is already believed that, generally, the environmental impact should be low because they are produced in a ‘natural’ way, with little or no technological intervention, if they follow the same path as other commodities, they will probably generate significant burdens in terms of carbon emissions, land or agrochemicals use. Transforming conventional production systems to commercially oriented intensive agricultural systems, along with the exportations, could present a major problematic situation. Therefore, it is essential to conduct individual assessments from a life cycle approach to identify hotspots and propose adaptative measures, despite the difficulty of tracing supply chains and compilating the data required.