Hestia Reference

Hestia is the world's largest food Life Cycle Assessment database, providing 36,044 specialized terms for environmental impact assessment of food systems through live API integration.

Overview

Hestia provides comprehensive terminology and data for food LCA studies, with real-time API access to continuously updated environmental impact information.

Key Statistics:

Total Terms: 36,044
Data Source: api.hestia.earth (live API)
Main Categories: 6 top-level categories
Coverage: Global food LCA terminology
Format: JSON-LD with semantic annotations
Update Method: Live API integration

Purpose and Applications

Primary Use Cases

Environmental Impact Assessment
- Carbon footprint calculations
- Water usage analysis
- Land use impact assessment
- Biodiversity impact evaluation
Supply Chain Analysis
- Farm-to-fork environmental tracking
- Process-level impact attribution
- Hotspot identification
- Comparative assessments
Food Sustainability Research
- Academic LCA studies
- Policy analysis
- Sustainability metrics development
- Dietary impact research
Product Development
- Recipe optimization
- Ingredient substitution analysis
- Packaging impact evaluation
- Process improvement

Hierarchical Structure

Hestia organizes terms into 6 main categories with detailed subcategories:

1. Practices (Agricultural and Production)

Coverage: Farming methods, cultivation practices, management techniques

Subcategories:

Crop Management
- Tillage practices (no-till, reduced tillage, conventional)
- Crop rotation systems
- Cover cropping
- Intercropping methods
Livestock Management
- Grazing systems (rotational, continuous, intensive)
- Feeding strategies
- Housing systems
- Breeding practices
Soil Management
- Fertilization practices
- Soil amendments
- Erosion control
- pH management
Pest and Disease Control
- Integrated pest management
- Pesticide application
- Biological control
- Cultural practices

Example Terms:

hestia/practice/tillage-no-till
hestia/practice/grazing-rotational
hestia/practice/fertilization-organic
hestia/practice/ipm-integrated-pest-management

2. Inputs & Products

Coverage: Raw materials, ingredients, products, outputs

Subcategories:

Agricultural Inputs
- Fertilizers (synthetic, organic, compost)
- Pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides)
- Seeds and seedlings
- Water for irrigation
- Energy inputs
Feed Inputs
- Concentrated feeds
- Roughage (hay, silage)
- Feed additives
- Supplements
Processing Inputs
- Packaging materials
- Processing aids
- Energy (electricity, gas)
- Water
Products and Outputs
- Primary products (crops, milk, meat)
- Co-products and by-products
- Waste streams
- Marketable outputs

Example Terms:

hestia/input/fertilizer-nitrogen-synthetic
hestia/input/pesticide-glyphosate
hestia/product/wheat-grain
hestia/product/beef-carcass
hestia/product/milk-raw

3. Measurements

Coverage: Quantitative measurements and metrics

Subcategories:

Yield Measurements
- Crop yields (kg/ha, t/ha)
- Animal production rates
- Product quality metrics
- Harvest index
Resource Use Measurements
- Water consumption (L, m³)
- Energy consumption (MJ, kWh)
- Land occupation (ha, m²)
- Material inputs (kg)
Environmental Measurements
- Soil properties (pH, organic matter)
- Climate conditions
- Water quality parameters
- Air quality metrics
Performance Indicators
- Feed conversion ratios
- Stocking densities
- Production efficiency
- Resource use efficiency

Example Terms:

hestia/measurement/yield-crop-kg-per-ha
hestia/measurement/water-consumption-m3
hestia/measurement/energy-use-mj
hestia/measurement/land-occupation-ha

4. Methods & Models

Coverage: LCA methodologies, calculation models, assessment frameworks

Subcategories:

LCA Methods
- Impact assessment methods (ReCiPe, CML, ILCD)
- Allocation methods (economic, mass, energy)
- System boundaries
- Functional units
Calculation Models
- Emission factor models
- Process models
- Crop growth models
- Animal production models
Data Quality Methods
- Uncertainty analysis
- Sensitivity analysis
- Data quality indicators
- Validation methods
Assessment Frameworks
- Life cycle stages
- Impact categories
- Characterization factors
- Normalization references

Example Terms:

hestia/method/lca-recipe-2016
hestia/method/allocation-economic
hestia/method/system-boundary-cradle-to-gate
hestia/model/ipcc-emission-factor

5. Emissions & Resource Use

Coverage: Environmental releases and resource consumption

Subcategories:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- CO₂ (fossil, biogenic)
- CH₄ (methane) - enteric, manure, rice
- N₂O (nitrous oxide) - direct, indirect
- Other GHGs (SF₆, CFCs)
Air Emissions
- NH₃ (ammonia) volatilization
- NOₓ (nitrogen oxides)
- Particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10)
- VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
Water Emissions
- Nutrient runoff (nitrogen, phosphorus)
- Pesticide leaching
- Sediment discharge
- Heavy metals
Soil Emissions
- Carbon sequestration/loss
- Soil erosion
- Nutrient depletion
- Acidification
Resource Depletion
- Water use (blue, green, gray water)
- Fossil fuel consumption
- Mineral resource use
- Land transformation

Example Terms:

hestia/emission/ghg-co2-fossil
hestia/emission/ghg-ch4-enteric
hestia/emission/ghg-n2o-direct-soil
hestia/emission/water-nitrogen-runoff
hestia/emission/air-nh3-volatilization
hestia/resource/water-blue-consumption

6. Infrastructure & Equipment

Coverage: Physical infrastructure, machinery, facilities

Subcategories:

Agricultural Infrastructure
- Irrigation systems
- Greenhouses and polytunnels
- Storage facilities (silos, barns)
- Fencing and enclosures
Livestock Infrastructure
- Animal housing (barns, sheds)
- Milking parlors
- Manure storage
- Feed storage
Processing Infrastructure
- Processing facilities
- Cold storage
- Packaging equipment
- Transportation infrastructure
Agricultural Machinery
- Tractors and implements
- Harvesters
- Spreaders and sprayers
- Irrigation equipment

Example Terms:

hestia/infrastructure/greenhouse-heated
hestia/infrastructure/barn-livestock
hestia/equipment/tractor-diesel
hestia/equipment/irrigation-drip-system

Live API Integration

API Endpoint

https://api.hestia.earth

Data Fetch Methods

The ESFC Glossary integrates Hestia data through automated API fetching:

Full Fetch (Production):

npm run parse:hestia
# Fetches all ~36,000 terms from live API
# Processing time: ~10-15 minutes
# Rate limited: 100 concurrent requests

Test Mode (Development):

npm run parse:hestia:test
# Fetches only 50 sample terms
# Processing time: less than 1 minute
# Used for testing and development

API Response Format

Hestia returns data in JSON-LD format following the Hestia schema:

{
  "@context": "https://hestia.earth/schema",
  "@type": "Term",
  "@id": "https://hestia.earth/term/emission-ghg-co2-fossil",
  "name": "Fossil CO₂ emission",
  "description": "Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion",
  "category": "Emissions & Resource Use",
  "unit": "kg CO₂",
  "termType": "Emission",
  "properties": {
    "gwp100": 1.0,
    "impactCategory": "Climate Change"
  }
}

Rate Limiting

Concurrent requests: 100 maximum
Retry strategy: 3 attempts with exponential backoff
Timeout: 30 seconds per request
Respectful usage: Aligned with api.hestia.earth guidelines

Data Formats and States

Hestia provides data in three formats and three states:

Formats

JSON-LD (.jsonld)
- Follows Hestia JSON-LD schema
- Semantic web compatible
- Suitable for web applications and ML
Expanded CSV (.csv)
- Term identifier in separate column
- Flexible multi-term format
- UTF-8 comma delimited
Compacted CSV (.csv)
- Term ID in column header
- Traditional analysis format
- Direct data analysis use

States

Original
- Raw data from source
- No gap filling or recalculation
- As-reported values
Recalculated
- HESTIA model gap filling
- Recalculated emissions and impacts
- Documented methodology at hestia.earth/docs
Aggregated
- Averaged across sites and cycles
- Product-country-period aggregations
- May differentiate by production system
- Example: "Wheat, grain - Brazil - 2010-2024"

Integration with Other Sources

FoodEx2 Mapping

Map food products to environmental data:

FoodEx2: A010101 (Common wheat)
    ↓ semantic mapping
Hestia: hestia/product/wheat-grain
    ↓ provides
Environmental impact data for wheat production

Ecoinvent Linking

Connect to broader LCA processes:

Hestia: hestia/product/beef-carcass
    ↓ links to
Ecoinvent: market for cattle for slaughtering
    ↓ provides
Complete supply chain LCA

Eaternity Schema Integration

Link to EOS API calculations:

Hestia: hestia/emission/ghg-ch4-enteric
    ↓ maps to
Eaternity: ImpactAssessment.gwp_total
    ↓ used in
EOS carbon footprint calculation

Query Examples

SQL Queries

-- Find all GHG emission terms
SELECT id, name, category, properties
FROM terms
WHERE source = 'hestia'
  AND category LIKE '%Emissions%'
  AND name LIKE '%GHG%';

-- Get all crop-related practices
SELECT id, name, description
FROM terms
WHERE source = 'hestia'
  AND category = 'Practices'
  AND name LIKE '%crop%';

-- Find water-related measurements
SELECT id, name, properties->>'unit' as unit
FROM terms
WHERE source = 'hestia'
  AND category = 'Measurements'
  AND (name LIKE '%water%' OR id LIKE '%water%');

-- Count terms by category
SELECT category, COUNT(*) as term_count
FROM terms
WHERE source = 'hestia'
GROUP BY category
ORDER BY term_count DESC;

JavaScript/TypeScript

import { Glossary, Term } from './glossary.types'

// Load glossary
const glossary: Glossary = await fetch('/glossary.json')
  .then(r => r.json())

// Filter Hestia terms
const hestiaTerms = glossary.terms.filter(t => t.source === 'hestia')

// Group by category
const byCategory = hestiaTerms.reduce((acc, term) => {
  const cat = term.category || 'Uncategorized'
  if (!acc[cat]) acc[cat] = []
  acc[cat].push(term)
  return acc
}, {} as Record<string, Term[]>)

// Find emission factors
const emissionFactors = hestiaTerms.filter(t =>
  t.category?.includes('Emissions') ||
  t.id?.includes('emission')
)

// Search for specific practices
const organicPractices = hestiaTerms.filter(t =>
  t.category === 'Practices' &&
  t.name.toLowerCase().includes('organic')
)

console.log(`Hestia terms by category:`)
Object.entries(byCategory).forEach(([cat, terms]) => {
  console.log(`  ${cat}: ${terms.length} terms`)
})

Python with pandas

import json
import pandas as pd

# Load glossary
with open('glossary.json') as f:
    glossary = json.load(f)

# Create DataFrame
df = pd.DataFrame(glossary['terms'])

# Filter Hestia terms
hestia_df = df[df['source'] == 'hestia'].copy()

# Category statistics
category_stats = hestia_df['category'].value_counts()
print("Terms by category:")
print(category_stats)

# Find all GHG-related terms
ghg_terms = hestia_df[
    hestia_df['name'].str.contains('GHG|CO₂|CH4|N2O', case=False, na=False)
]
print(f"\nFound {len(ghg_terms)} GHG-related terms")

# Emission factors analysis
emissions = hestia_df[
    hestia_df['category'].str.contains('Emissions', na=False)
]
print(f"\nEmission terms: {len(emissions)}")

Environmental Impact Categories

Hestia terms cover all major LCA impact categories:

Impact Category	Example Terms	Units
Climate Change	CO₂, CH₄, N₂O emissions	kg CO₂-eq
Eutrophication	Nitrogen, phosphorus runoff	kg N-eq, kg P-eq
Acidification	NH₃, NOₓ, SO₂ emissions	kg SO₂-eq
Water Use	Blue, green, gray water	m³, L
Land Use	Land occupation, transformation	ha, m²
Biodiversity	Species richness, habitat loss	PDF·m²·year
Resource Depletion	Fossil fuels, minerals	MJ, kg
Toxicity	Pesticides, heavy metals	CTUe, CTUh

Best Practices

Term Selection

Match Granularity
- Use most specific term available
- Align with your data resolution
- Consider system boundaries
Category Awareness
- Understand category structure
- Use consistent categorization
- Link related terms
Data Quality
- Prefer recalculated/aggregated data for comparisons
- Use original data for specific case studies
- Document data state used

Environmental Assessment Workflow

1. Define Product
   ↓
2. Select Hestia Product Term
   ↓
3. Identify Practices Used
   ↓
4. Map Inputs (fertilizers, energy, water)
   ↓
5. Calculate Emissions
   ↓
6. Apply Impact Methods
   ↓
7. Report Results

Integration with EOS

When using Hestia data in Eaternity EOS:

Map Product - Link Hestia product to FlowNode
Map Practices - Link to ActivityNode processes
Map Emissions - Link to ImpactAssessment
Calculate - Use EOS calculation engine
Validate - Compare with Hestia aggregated data

Documentation and Resources

Official Hestia Resources

Website: hestia.earth
API Documentation: api.hestia.earth/docs
Schema: hestia.earth/schema
Glossary: hestia.earth/glossary
Methodology: hestia.earth/docs

ESFC Glossary Integration

36,044 terms indexed and searchable
Semantic mappings to FoodEx2, Ecoinvent, Eaternity
SQL database for efficient queries
TypeScript types for type-safe integration
Live updates from API

License and Usage

License: Open for research use Commercial Use: Contact Hestia for licensing Attribution: Required when using Hestia data Citation Format:

Hestia Project. (Year). Food LCA Database. Retrieved from https://hestia.earth

Updates and Maintenance

Update Method: Live API integration Fetch Frequency: Configurable (daily, weekly, monthly) Version Tracking: API timestamps and version metadata Change Detection: Automated diff detection on updates

Update Commands

# Full update (production)
npm run parse:hestia

# Test update (development)
npm run parse:hestia:test

# Build with updated data
npm run build:all

Data Sources - Overview of all sources
FoodEx2 Reference - Map food products
Ecoinvent Reference - Link to LCI data
Semantic Mapping - Cross-source matching
Eaternity Schema - EOS integration

Overview​

Purpose and Applications​

Primary Use Cases​

Hierarchical Structure​

1. Practices (Agricultural and Production)​

2. Inputs & Products​

3. Measurements​

4. Methods & Models​

5. Emissions & Resource Use​

6. Infrastructure & Equipment​

Live API Integration​

API Endpoint​

Data Fetch Methods​

API Response Format​

Rate Limiting​

Data Formats and States​

Formats​

States​

Integration with Other Sources​

FoodEx2 Mapping​

Ecoinvent Linking​

Eaternity Schema Integration​

Query Examples​

SQL Queries​

JavaScript/TypeScript​

Python with pandas​

Environmental Impact Categories​

Best Practices​

Term Selection​

Environmental Assessment Workflow​

Integration with EOS​

Documentation and Resources​

Official Hestia Resources​

ESFC Glossary Integration​

License and Usage​

Updates and Maintenance​

Update Commands​

Related Documentation​

Overview

Purpose and Applications

Primary Use Cases

Hierarchical Structure

1. Practices (Agricultural and Production)

2. Inputs & Products

3. Measurements

4. Methods & Models

5. Emissions & Resource Use

6. Infrastructure & Equipment

Live API Integration

API Endpoint

Data Fetch Methods

API Response Format

Rate Limiting

Data Formats and States

Formats

States

Integration with Other Sources

FoodEx2 Mapping

Ecoinvent Linking

Eaternity Schema Integration

Query Examples

SQL Queries

JavaScript/TypeScript

Python with pandas

Environmental Impact Categories

Best Practices

Term Selection

Environmental Assessment Workflow

Integration with EOS

Documentation and Resources

Official Hestia Resources

ESFC Glossary Integration

License and Usage

Updates and Maintenance

Update Commands

Related Documentation