Comparing nutritional value and yield as functional units in the environmental assessment of horticultural production with organic or mineral fertilization

• DOI: 10.1007/s11367-010-0238-6
• Publication Date: 2010-09-17T06:51:33Z
• Authors: Julia Martínez-Bl...; Assumpció Antón; Joan Rieradevall; Massimo Castellari; Pere Muñoz
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; 0502 economics and business; 05 social sciences; 15. Life on land

Background, aim, and scope We report the environmental assessment of the cultivation cycle of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis), chosen due to its high levels of natural bioactive compounds, using different fertilization practices. The functional units used during the impact assessment were linked with the quantity produced, considering different units of commercialization, or with the cauliflower quality, considering its antioxidant compounds content. Although nutrient content has been described and used as a possible functional unit, using antioxidant compounds as a functional unit has not previously been published.