Thoma to Present Seminar at Food Science Department

Professor Greg Thoma will present "An introduction to lifecycle assessment of food production systems, with a case study of Greek Yogurt production" at the Food Science Department at 3 p.m. Aug. 27, in Room D-2. 

Thoma is the Bates Teaching Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Arkansas and served as inaugural director for research of The Sustainability Consortium. He has led numerous food and agriculture life cycle assessment projects: milk, cheese, milk delivery systems, yogurt, swine, poultry, corn, and beef. He serves on the steering committee for the Swiss National Research Program, "Healthy Nutrition and Sustainable Food Production."

His presentation will provide an introduction to lifecycle assessment, covering the basic framework as well as a discussion of the "flavors" of LCA: Attributional and Consequential. Attributional modeling uses an engineering-like normative framework to deal with multi-functional processes, while the consequential approach takes an economic perspective and accounts for external (to the system studied) effects which may have environmental sustainability effects. The consequential modeling framework is used to evaluate alternative treatment technologies for acid whey produced as a byproduct of Greek Yogurt.

The Food Science Department is located 2 miles north of the main campus at 2650 N. Young Ave.