From Farm to Flavor: Carbon and Biodiversity Footprint of the Global Spice Market

Agriculture generates roughly one-third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, underscoring the need to assess the environmental impact of all crops. However, the spice sector has received little attention, with only a few life cycle assessment (LCA) studies available. This study evaluates the carbon and biodiversity footprint of the global spice sector and situates the sector within the broader agricultural system. Climate impacts were quantified using the IPCC GWP100a method, while biodiversity impacts were assessed using LC-IMPACT and a land-use-induced biodiversity assessment method (the high-resolution land use intensities and fragmentation method, LUIF). Indirect drivers of species loss were found to be significant, highlighting the importance of biodiversity assessment beyond only land-use-induced impacts. To capture these effects more comprehensively, the LUIF method was integrated into the LC-IMPACT framework. Results indicate that the global spice sector emits between 41.4 and 64.8 Mt CO2-eq annually and causes approximately 7.2 × 10-4 PDF·yr (potentially disappeared fraction of species), including land plants and vertebrates. Although spices account for only 0.18% of agri-food sector turnover and 0.06% of global crop production volume, they contribute 0.33% of agricultural GHG emissions.