Chickpea-Based Burgers as a Sustainable Meat Alternative: Life Cycle Assessment and Preliminary Economic Evaluation

The meat industry is widely regarded as one of the most environmentally and economically burdensome sectors, playing a significant role in greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion, and public health challenges. Additionally, its high production costs and inefficiencies in resource use exacerbate the economic strain on both local and global scales, making it a major contributor to unsustainable practices in food production. This study investigates the environmental and economic benefits of replacing conventional meat burgers with plant-based vegan burgers, through a cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and economic evaluation. The assessment was conducted using the GaBi 2023 software, applying the ReCiPe 2016 impact assessment method to evaluate multiple environmental indicators. The LCA results reveal substantial environmental advantages of vegan burgers, including a 92.25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 99.51% decrease in fine particulate matter formation, and significant reductions in water and land usage. Additionally, the human health and ecosystem impacts associated with vegan burgers are markedly lower, highlighting their advantages as a healthier dietary option. An estimated ±10% data variability is expected, though it does not significantly affect the comparative results, as uncertainty applies consistently to both scenarios. From an economic perspective, the production of vegan burgers proves more cost-effective, with a production cost of €0.24 per vegan burger compared to €0.66 per meat burger. In conclusion, plant-based vegan burgers present a compelling alternative to conventional meat products, offering environmental, health, and economic benefits that support more sustainable food systems.