Life Cycle Environmental Impacts and Energy Demand of Craft Mezcal in Mexico

Martínez, Jazmín Maciel; Baltierra-Trejo, Eduardo; Taboada-González, Paul; Aguilar-Virgen, Quetzalli; Márquez-Benavides, Liliana

doi:10.3390/su12198242

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…This means that the imbalances of S4, E1, E4, and I2 revealed a dependence on the equipment, therefore its consideration and supply can resolve the problems, barriers, and difficulties to balance these components. These results are in line with the study of [144], in which it is recorded that the equipment is low-tech in its production, in addition to the fact that the interaction inside and outside is reduced due to the lack of access to technologies [145].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Innovation of Women Farmers: A Technological Proposal for Mezcalilleras’ Sustainability in Mexico, Based on Knowledge Management

et al. 2021

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Currently, technology usage is a fundamental asset for creating, developing, and implementing innovations; however, these are not available to everyone, which is accentuated in women with agricultural occupations. The present study develops a proposal of technologies for mezcalilleras’ sustainability from Oaxaca, Mexico, based on a knowledge management methodology, through the application of questionnaires in face-to-face sessions, field visits, and statistical analysis to explore the imbalances enclosed in the agave–mezcal activity seen as its problems, failures, and barriers, as well as its correlation with the identified technological routes. The results reveal that a technological platform creation, the fabrication of fiber optic refractometer, a metal roof construction, the design of a horizontal distiller–fractionator, the employment of metal containers and production of glass bottles, and the generation of a software and an application, are the suitable technologies, according to the mezcalilleras’ requirements. This proposal can be important for academics, policymakers, and producers who wish to revitalize traditional knowledge of the small-scale sectors in Mexico through new ways of interaction with external agents and customers, new ways of production, and previous years’ production analysis.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Innovation of Women Farmers: A Technological Proposal for Mezcalilleras’ Sustainability in Mexico, Based on Knowledge Management

et al. 2021

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“…Nevertheless, despite the risk of adopting unsustainable practices to meet the growing market demand, mezcal is a DOM that still has time to plan a growth that will result in sustainable production. Mezcal production begins with selecting appropriate wild, semi-cultivated, or cultivated agave plants (Maciel Martínez et al, 2020). Agaves are considered non-timber forest products, which are species of slow growth and maturation.…”

Section: Sustainability Aspect In Artisanal Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mezcal production from Agave cupreata was analyzed to determine the environmental impact and energy demand (Maciel Martínez et al, 2020). Those authors established that an industrialized process generates more CO 2 emissions than process carried out by hand, while processes using cultured agave also generates more CO 2 emissions than that using wild agave.…”

Section: Sustainability Aspect In Artisanal Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sustainable practices in the mezcal production chain have focused mainly on raw material production (Maciel Martínez et al, 2020). In fact, it has been argued that mezcal culture would be protected preserving plants but also farming and production recipes passed from generation to generation (Bullock, 2017).…”

Section: Sustainability Aspect In Artisanal Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mezcal Production in Mexico: Between Tradition and Commercial Exploitation

Arellano‐Plaza

Páez-Lerma

Soto-Cruz

et al. 2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Mezcal is a traditional iconic Mexican distilled beverage obtained from varied species of agaves. Regardless of the area of production, the process always consists of five stages: harvesting the agaves, cooking, crushing, fermentation, and distillation. It is produced in a large area of Mexican territory, a large part of which is protected by the Denomination of Origin mezcal (DOM). Over time, the word mezcal has evolved from a generic name to a more specific term used to describe the agave-distilled beverages produced in the territory protected by the DOM under the Mexican official standard NOM-070-SCFI-2016 which defined Mezcal as a “Mexican distilled alcoholic beverage, 100% from maguey or agave, obtained by distillation of fermented juices with spontaneous or cultivated microorganisms, extracted from mature heads of maguey or cooked agaves, harvested in the territory covered by the DOM.” In the last 10 years, official production has increased, from <1 million liters in 2011 to almost 8 million liters. This substantial increase in production puts a lot of pressure on resources, in particular raw material, as part of the production is obtained from wild agave. On the other hand, it exposes tradition at risk by increasing production by modernizing production processes and sacrificing the artisanal aspect of this production. We consider appropriate to address the issue of sustainability in this context of great tradition and growing market demand. The article presents the relevant aspects of mezcal production, highlighting some particularities specific to certain production areas, it also addresses the problem of the official standard. A broad discussion is presented on the sustainability of artisanal processes, and the main points to be taken care of in this framework. Additionally, some elements considered as fundamental in the perspective of the design of a sustainable artisanal distillery are described. In summary, this article aims to review the current state of mezcal production, how sustainability may be addressed in a very artisanal process and what are the challenges of the production chain to satisfy an increase in demand without sacrificing the tradition and culture related to this iconic Mexican beverage.

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“…Vodka is another distilled beverage evaluated with LCA considering specific raw material varieties, high-volume distribution, and shipping for global market consumption (Bhattacharyya et al, 2019). About Mexican distilled liquor, the environmental impact of the artisanal process of mezcal (Maciel et al, 2020) has been evaluated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Analysis of Sotol Production in Mexico

Madrid-Solórzano¹,

García-Alcaráz²,

Macías³

et al. 2021

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Sotol is a Mexican distilled spirit produced in Northern Mexico. The estimated annual production of sotol is at around 5,200 hl per year. This industry grows at an average rate of 5% per year. The Mexican Sotol Council and the Sotol Certificate Council are regulatory bodies dedicated to monitoring that sotol producers comply with the Official Mexican Standard NOM-159-SCFI-2004. Currently, those regulatory bodies try to improve the sotol production process and good practice guidelines to contribute to cleaner production. This paper reports a case study of artisanal sotol production in Chihuahua State in Mexico. Life cycle assessment (LCA) technique was used to compute the environmental impact of sotol and its performance to identify system hotspots and propose improvement interventions. SimaPro software, v.9.1®, is used for the LCA, applying CML-IA baseline V3.05/EU25 method to evaluate and select environmental impact categories. The system boundary included the stages of harvest, cooking, milling, fermentation, distillation, bottling, and packaging. The findings indicate that each of the stages required for sotol beverage processing significantly affects the marine ecosystem. The milling and bottling stages have the highest environmental impact. A 750-ml bottle of artisan sotol causes 5.92 kg CO2 eq, based on empirical data. Sotol makers should focus on reducing energy consumption caused by input transportation and equipment for milling.

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Life Cycle Environmental Impacts and Energy Demand of Craft Mezcal in Mexico

Cited by 9 publications

References 29 publications

Innovation of Women Farmers: A Technological Proposal for Mezcalilleras’ Sustainability in Mexico, Based on Knowledge Management

Innovation of Women Farmers: A Technological Proposal for Mezcalilleras’ Sustainability in Mexico, Based on Knowledge Management

Mezcal Production in Mexico: Between Tradition and Commercial Exploitation

Life Cycle Analysis of Sotol Production in Mexico

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