a b s t r a c tThe carbon footprint (CF) of beef production is one of the most widely discussed environmental issues within the current agricultural community due to its association with climate change. Because of these relevant and serious concerns, the beef cattle industry is under increasing pressure to reduce production or implement technological changes with significant consequences in terms of beef marketing. The goals of this study were to evaluate the CF per 1 kg of live weight gain (LWG) at the farm gate for different beef production systems in the southern part of Brazil. Aberdeen Angus beef-bred cattle were assigned to one of seven categories: natural grass; improved natural grass; natural grass plus ryegrass; improved natural grass plus sorghum; cultivated ryegrass and sorghum; natural grass supplemented with protein mineralised salt; and natural grass supplemented with protein-energetic mineralised salt. Monte Carlo analysis was employed to analyse the effect of variations of dry matter intake digestibility (DMID), total digestible nutrients (TDN) and crude protein (CP) parameters in methane (CH 4 ) enteric, CH 4 manure, nitrous oxide (N 2 O) manure and N 2 O N-fertiliser. The method used was a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) centred on the CF. The CF varied from 18.3 kg CO 2 equivalent/kg LWG for the ryegrass and sorghum pasture system to 42.6 kg CO 2 equivalent/kg LWG for the natural grass system, including the contributions of cows, calves and steers. Among all grassland-based cattle farms, production systems with DMID from 52 to 59% achieved the lowest CO 2 emissions and the highest feed conversion rate, thereby generating lower CH 4 and N 2 O emissions per production system. Because the feed intake and feed conversion rate are one of the most important production parameters in beef cattle production with an obvious risk of data uncertainty, accurate feed data, which include quantity and quality, are important in estimates of CF for LWG. The choice of adequate feeding strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions may result in better environmental advantages.

Purpose Livestock production is a recognized source of environmental impact, and this sector indirectly involves approximately 5 million people in Brazil. Livestock production includes nearly 1.5 million milk producers that use several different production systems. We chose the southern region of Brazil to evaluate the carbon footprint (CF) per 1 kg of energy-corrected milk (ECM) at the farm gate for different dairy production systems with the use of a good level of technology. Methods The dairy production systems were confined feedlot system, semi-confined feedlot system (including some grazing), and pasture-based grazing system. A sensitivity analysis of the dry matter intake (DMI) in each farming system and an uncertainty analysis based on a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation were performed to complement the discussion. The standards ISO 14040: 2006 and ISO 14044: 2006 were used for the comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) focused on the CF. The LCA software tool SimaPro 7.3.3 was used. Sensitivity analyses were conducted on input data for total digestible nutrients (TDN) and crude protein (CP) based on values from the literature. Results and discussion The comparative LCA showed that the confined feedlot system had a lower CF than the other systems studied. Total greenhouse gas emissions were 0.535 kg CO 2 e kg ECM −1 for the confined feedlot system, 0.778 kg CO 2 e kg ECM −1 for the semi-confined feedlot system, and 0.738 kg CO 2 e kg ECM −1 for the pasture-based system without considering the impact from direct land use change (dLUC). When considering these emissions, the CFs for grain and cottonseed production showed CF increases of 45.0, 36.9, and 37.3 % for the confined feedlot, semi-confined feedlot, and pasture-based systems, respectively. The results from the MC simulations showed low uncertainty through variations in TDN and CP. The coefficient of variation was 1.1 % for the confined feedlot, 0.7 % for the semi-confined feedlot, and 1.0 % for the pasture systems. Conclusions The uncertainties were due mainly to variations in N 2 O emissions from manure for the three systems. The CF in Brazilian systems was lower than almost all the results found in the literature, even when impacts from the dLUC were considered. The lowest CF in this case study was due mainly to the emission factor used for enteric fermentation.

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Globally, it is estimated that approximately a third of the food produced is lost or wasted. Reducing half of these losses would make it possible to increase the availability of food for another 1 billion people. Specifically, in Brazil, the amount of lost and wasted food, if used, would be enough to achieve food security, considering as a restriction for this security, the availability of food for purchase. In this context, the objective is to identify methodologies that measure losses and food waste in Brazil. For this, a systematic review of the subject was made. It can be observed that there are a few studies that quantify food losses and wastage in the country. The largest concentration of these studies is in the distribution and consumption stages of the food supply chain. Information is available from food lost and waste, mainly in the consumption and distribution phases. Otherwise, in the other phases of the supply chain, food loss and waste values in Brazil are still incipient or non-existent. Studies that identify these values can contribute to the generation of more accurate information on the subject, being able to raise the values referring to food loss and waste of the country.Keywords: supply chain; food secutity; sustainability; hungry.Perdas e desperdícios alimentares no Brasil: uma revisão sistemáticaRESUMOEstima-se que, globalmente, aproximadamente um terço dos alimentos produzidos sejam perdidos ou desperdiçados. No entanto, a redução de metade dessas perdas tornaria possível aumentar a disponibilidade de alimentos para mais 1 bilhão de pessoas. Especificamente, no Brasil, a quantidade de alimentos perdidos e desperdiçados, se utilizados, seria suficiente para alcançar a segurança alimentar, considerando como uma restrição para essa segurança, a disponibilidade de alimentos para compra. Nesse contexto, o objetivo é identificar metodologias que mensurem perdas e desperdício de alimentos no Brasil. Para isso, foi realizada uma revisão sistemática do assunto. Pode-se observar que existem poucos estudos que quantificam perdas e desperdícios de alimentos no país. A maior concentração desses estudos está nos estágios de distribuição e consumo da cadeia de suprimento de alimentos. As informações estão disponíveis a partir de alimentos perdidos e desperdiçados, principalmente nas fases de consumo e distribuição. Nas demais fases da cadeia de suprimentos, os valores de perda e desperdício de alimentos no Brasil ainda são incipientes ou inexistentes. Estudos que identifiquem esses valores podem contribuir para a geração de informações mais precisas sobre o assunto, podendo elevar os valores referentes à perda e desperdício de alimentos no país.Palavras-chave: cadeia de suprimentos; segurança alimentar; sustentabilidade; fome.

RESUMO: A Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) é uma ferramenta capaz de estimar o potencial de emissões e apontar as fases críticas de um determinado produto ou processo em todo o seu ciclo de vida. O objetivo deste trabalho foi resumir os principais resultados das pesquisas e estudos de caso em ACV relacionados à bovinocultura leiteira nacional e internacional, de 2008 a 2014, e realizar uma análise crítica das categorias de impacto abordadas com maior frequência pela literatura: mudança climática, acidificação, eutrofização, uso da terra e demanda de energia. De todas as fases, a produção de leite na fazenda é onde ocorre a maior parte das emissões. Os resultados apontam que os pontos críticos da bovinocultura leiteira são as emissões entéricas, produção e uso de fertilizante, uso de esterco, produção e transporte de concentrado, e a baixa produtividade animal. Em geral, a categoria de mudança climática foi contraditória com as demais categorias, razão pela qual não deve ser considerada sozinha em avaliações de impacto ambiental. No Brasil, a intensificação na produção à base de pasto apresenta-se como uma estratégia de redução de impactos, uma vez que diminui a necessidade do uso de insumos de base não renovável e aumenta o sequestro de carbono via fotossíntese.

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