# Environmental Impact of Massive Food Services and Homemade Meals: A Case Study on Steved Chickpeas
## 2 Materials and Methods
### Life Cycle Inventory  
#### 2.2.1 Data Collection  
The primary data required for analyzing the environmental impact of stewed chickpeas under three scenarios were obtained as follows: First, for the massive food service (university canteen) scenario, data were collected through interviews with the canteen staff, including the nutritionist and chef. These interviews provided information on the processes necessary to deliver a portion of stewed chickpeas at the university, including the quantities of ingredients required, the equipment used, cooking times, and appliance usage. Second, for homemade meals in Scenarios S\({}_{2}\) and S\({}_{3}\), the dishes were cooked to obtain a more accurate environmental impact calculation. Data were collected on the percentage of ingredient waste, the amount of water used to wash the ingredients, and the types of  
Figure 1: System boundaries. (**A**): University canteen scenario—S\({}_{1}\). (**B**): Homemade chickpeas with first recipe scenario—S\({}_{2}\). (**C**): Homemade chickpeas with second recipe scenario—S\({}_{3}\).  
utensils used, among other factors. For cooking at home, S2, it was necessary to consult a nutritionally approved recipe that detailed the necessary ingredients and cooking times (see Supplementary Materials for more details). Finally, for stewed chickpeas cooked in Scenario S3, a researcher was asked to cook them traditionally, without specifying the quantity of each ingredient to be used as a recipe, but measuring the ingredients to be used. This approach, while reflective of Chilean culinary practices, introduces contextual specificity, which is acknowledged as a limitation in Section 4. In the three scenarios studied, the data regarding gas and electricity use depend on the technical specifications of the equipment available in the respective kitchens. Other required data, such as the environmental impacts of the ingredients, gas, energy consumption, and the treatment and transport of the generated waste, were obtained from SimaPro, considering Ecoinvent 3, Agribalsye V3.01, and Agri-footprint 5, detailed in the Supplementary Material.  
Specific considerations were applied to each analysis. Regarding energy consumption, the characteristics of the Chilean energy matrix for 2022 were considered based on publicly available information ([[http://generadoras.cl/generacion-electrica-en-chile](http://generadoras.cl/generacion-electrica-en-chile)]([http://generadoras.cl/generacion-electrica-en-chile](http://generadoras.cl/generacion-electrica-en-chile)) accessed on 23 June 2024). The high-voltage energy matrix was used to prepare the materials for the university refectory. Conversely, preparations made at home were adjusted to the medium-voltage energy matrix, reflecting differences in energy consumption depending on the preparation environment.  
Concerning home preparations, it is crucial to consider the need for refrigeration and reheating. It is particularly relevant because people are assumed to prepare their food at night to consume it the next day at university. To ensure proper food preservation, meals are refrigerated for 13 h. Before consumption, these meals are reheated for 2 min and 30 s in a microwave.  
Regarding waste transportation, the distance traveled from the food preparation points to the Santa Marta landfill was evaluated considering this factor as an important element in assessing the environmental impact of waste management.  
The analyzed scenarios did not share a uniform selection of ingredients, leading to variability in dish composition. It underscores the importance of considering the environmental implications of each choice in the kitchen, from ingredient selection to waste management.