LCA Analysis: Tillamook Cheddar Cheese vs. Loleta Cheddar Cheese

by Rebecca Williams

Introduction

In this analysis, one pound of locally produced Loleta Cheese and one pound of Tillamook Cheese, produced in Oregon, will be compared through their Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) to find which product is more environmentally friendly. For the purposes of this analysis, the product whose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are lowest will be deemed the most environmentally friendly. Included in the analysis is a quantitative analysis of CO₂ emissions, as part of the GHG emissions generated during the transportation of each product to a retail outlet in Arcata.

When I began this project, I expected that the transportation phase of the LCA would be the largest contributor of GHG emissions. I was surprised to find that, where cheese is concerned, shipping is really a very small contributor to the GHG emissions.

Cheese Production

At both the Loleta Cheese Factory and the Tillamook Cheese Factory, the cheese is created in the same fashion. A description of the cheese-making process including the material extraction phase and the associated emissions will simplify the life cycle comparison.

According to the Sustainable Cheese Production website, the greatest contributor to GHG emissions during cheese making is the milk production phase; 90% of GHG emissions occur during this phase (Aguirre-Villegas 2011). Up to 52% of all GHG emission produced in the milk production phase are enteric methane (Green Cheese). In other words, the cow’s burps are primarily responsible for GHG emissions in the production of cheese. Because methane has more global warming potential than CO₂, 1.2 pounds of CO₂ equivalent* (CO_2e) emissions are produced for every pound of milk (Aguirre-Villegas 2011). Ten pounds of raw milk are required to produce one pound of cheese (Tillamook). That comes to 12 pounds of CO_2e produced during the material extraction phase for every pound of cheese produced.

Modern cheese making begins with the raw milk being heat-treated to prevent bacterial growth. Next, comes mixing in enzymes which separate the curds and whey. Whey is a by-product of cheese that is not considered for this LCA. Cheese curds are pressed to form cheese blocks. The cheese blocks are aged in a cool storage warehouse. Medium cheddar ages for a minimum of 60 days. (Tillamook) During the product manufacturing phase, according to the Sustainable Cheese Production website, 0.4 to 0.6 pounds of CO_2e are produced for every pound of hard cheese made (Aguirre-Villegas 2011).

Tillamook Cheddar Cheese

Figure 1: Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese on the factory line (Tillamook, 2013)

Tillamook Cheese begins its life on a dairy in the Tillamook Valley in Oregon. All the milk used to make Tillamook Cheese comes from the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA); TCCA is a dairy co-operative consisting of 110 dairies (Tillamook). The Tillamook Cheese Factory is a large-scale dairy production facility. According to the TCCA website, the cheese factory has an on-site warehouse capable of holding 50 million pounds of cheese. The Tillamook Cheese Factory also touts its energy efficiency and environmental stewardship on their website. The cheese is manufactured and aged then shipped to a retail location. In this case, the retail location is in Arcata. The cheese is eaten by a consumer, providing chemical energy and producing some biological waste. The cellophane packaging is biodegradable and can be thrown away at the end of life.

Figure 2: Tillamook Cheese LCA Flow Diagram

 

Loleta Cheddar Cheese

Figure 3: Loleta Mild Cheddar Cheese on the shelf at Ray's in Fortuna.

Loleta Cheese begins its life on a dairy in the Eel River Valley. The Eel River Valley is about 10 miles south of Eureka. All the milk used to make Loleta Cheese comes from the Laffranchi Dairy. The Loleta Cheese Factory is a small family owned company. Each vat of cheese is hand-made (Loleta Cheese). The cheese is manufactured and aged then shipped to a retail location. In this case, the retail location is in Arcata. The cheese is used as food by the consumer providing chemical energy. The consumer then produces some waste which goes to the wastewater treatment plant. The packaging is biodegradable cellophane and will be going to the landfill.

Figure 4: Loleta Cheese LCA Flow Diagram

 

Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Transportation Phase

Finding the CO₂ emissions for the transportation phase can be done in a few steps. First, the CO₂ emissions from diesel fuel must be found. Then, the vehicle specifications for the two types of delivery trucks and the mileage from each production plant to Arcata can be used to find the pounds of CO₂ emissions generated by delivering one pound of cheese to Arcata.

CO2 in Diesel

The EPA has established that there are 2778 grams of carbon in a gallon of diesel fuel (Chargepoint 2005).  The molecular weight of carbon is 12 g/mol and the molecular weight of carbon dioxide is 44 g/mol.  **99% of the carbon in diesel fuel is oxidized, thus it has an oxidation factor of 0.99 when calculating CO₂ emissions (Chargepoint 2005).  There is 454 grams in one pound.  Finding the CO₂ emissions in one gallon of diesel can be completed as follows:

 

 

Tillamook Cheese Transportation Analysis

The trip from Tillamook is 376 miles. For this analysis, assume the trip is made in a semi-truck with a 50,000 pound capacity, it is loaded with cheese, and it gets 7.3 miles per gallon (2012 Vehicle Technologies).

Loleta Cheese Transportation Analysis

The trip from Loleta to Arcata is 22 miles. For this analysis, assume that the cheese is delivered in a smaller capacity refrigerated delivery van. The van’s capacity is 7250 pounds, it is loaded with cheese, and it gets 12 miles per gallon (2012 Vehicle Technologies).

Conclusion

When GHG emissions, specifically CO_2e, are the gauge used to determine environmentally friendliness, locally made Loleta Cheese is more environmentally friendly. The Tillamook Cheese Factory claims to be working toward production energy efficiency, but this is a completely subjective statement.

Table 1: Product CO2 Emission Comparison

The most surprising result of this analysis was that the GHG emissions produced in transportation, even for the product that was shipped the farthest, was less than 0.2% of the CO_2e emissions produced by the cows that make the milk. This LCA comparison has completely changed the way I look at cow’s milk. Maybe the most environmentally friendly cheese is Cypress Grove Chevre, a local goat cheese, but that would be a whole different project.

References

Aguirre-Villegas, H., Kraatz, S., Milani, F., Newenhouse, A., Passos-Fonseca, T., and Reinemann, D. (2011). Understanding the carbon footprint of cheese. In Sustainable Cheese Production. Retrieved October 25, 2013, from University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension Web site: http://www.usdairy.com/PublicCommunicationTools/CarbonFootprintOfCheese.pdf

Average carbon dioxide emissions resulting from gasoline and diesel fuel. (2005). United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved October 25, 2013, from Chargepoint Web site: http://www.chargepoint.com/pdfs/420f05001.pdf

GHG emissions. (n. d.). Green Cheese. Retrieved October 25, 2013, from UW Cooperative Extension For Your Information Network. Web site: http://fyi.uwex.edu/greencheese/results-and-interpretation/milk-production/ghg-emissions/

Loleta Cheese Factory. (n. d.). Retrieved October 25, 2013, from Loleta Cheese Factory Web site: http://www.loletacheese.com/

Tillamook Cheese. (n. d.). Retrieved October 25, 2013, from Tillamook County Creamery Association Web site: http://www.tillamook.com/

2012 Vehicle technolologies market report. (n. d). Retreived on October 25, 2013, from http://cta.ornl.gov/vtmarketreport/pdf/chapter3_heavy_trucks.pdf

Fall 2013 ENGR 115 Project: Created December 12, 2013