Eight scenarios of fresh tomato supply to urban citizens were analysed using a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) approach. Two of the scenarios corresponded to unheated greenhouses and a long distance transportation to the final consumer; four scenarios corresponded to zero-miles agriculture in a rural environment, including heated greenhouses, unheated greenhouses and open-field production; another two scenarios corresponded to Urban Agriculture (UA). The objective was to compare the environmental impacts of the production and transportation of tomatoes to the final consumer. Zero-miles production in heated greenhouses had the highest environmental impact (e.g. the Global Warming Potential GWP was 0.33 kg CO₂ eq per kg of tomato), to such an extent that production in unheated greenhouses far away was comparatively better (GWP was 0.21 kg CO₂ eq). Conversely, zero-miles production in the open-field was, environmentally, the best option with a GWP of 0.12 kg CO₂ eq. Interestingly, the distance travelled by the product was less important than the efficiency of the transport. Other important environmental burdens were inefficient irrigation, chemical disinfection of the soil and the technological appliances used for micro-agriculture. As a consequence, the best zero-miles agriculture scenario was not the one where tomatoes were grown closest to the consumer's table, but the one that used the most efficient and less contaminating agronomic management and transport strategy. Thus, UA was not environmentally superior to zero-miles agriculture carried out in rural areas; conversely, rural horticulture helps to stabilize the population in regions suffering from depopulation.

使用生命周期分析 (LCA) 方法分析了八种向城市居民供应新鲜番茄的情景。其中两种情景对应于不供暖的温室和最终消费者的长途运输；四种情景对应于农村环境中的零英里农业，包括加热温室、不加热温室和露天生产；另外两个情景对应于城市农业（UA）。目的是比较西红柿的生产和运输对最终消费者的环境影响。加热温室中的零英里生产对环境的影响最大（例如，全球变暖潜能值 GWP 为 0.33 kg CO ₂eq/kg 番茄），以至于远距离的不加热温室的产量相对较好（GWP 为 0.21 kg CO ₂ eq）。相反，在环境方面，露天场地的零英里生产是最佳选择，其 GWP 为 0.12 kg CO ₂等式。有趣的是，产品行驶的距离不如运输效率重要。其他重要的环境负担是灌溉效率低下、土壤化学消毒和用于微型农业的技术设备。因此，最佳的零英里农业方案不是番茄种植在离消费者餐桌最近的地方，而是使用最有效且污染较少的农艺管理和运输策略的方案。因此，UA 在环境上并不优于在农村地区开展的零英里农业；相反，农村园艺有助于稳定人口减少地区的人口。