Life Cycle Assessment of Iberian Traditional Pig Production System in Spain

Abstract

Traditional Iberian pig production is characterized by outdoor systems that produce animals fed with natural resources. The aim of this study was to assess the environmental impacts of such systems through Life Cycle Assessment. Environmental impacts were analysed per kilogram of live weight at farm gate. Iberian pig production in montanera had the lowest impacts for climate change (CC), acidification (AC), eutrophication (EU) and cumulative energy demand (CED), being 3.4 kg CO2 eq, 0.091 molc H+ eq, 0.046 kg PO43− eq, and 20.7 MJ, respectively, due to the strict use of natural resources (acorns and grass) during the fattening period. As Iberian farms had a greater dependence on compound feed in cebo campo, environmental impacts on CC, AC, EU and CED were 22, 17, 95 and 28% higher, respectively, than with montanera. For land occupation (LO), however, cebo campo had a lower impact (31.6 m2·year) than montanera (43.0 m2·year) system. Traditional Iberian pig production systems have environmental impacts higher than conventional systems studied in literature but are similar to other traditional systems. Based on the present assessment, it is necessary to account for the contribution of emissions resulting from the consumption of natural resources to avoid the underestimation of environmental impacts.

Effect of Fattening Period Length on Intramuscular and Subcutaneous Fatty Acid Profiles in Iberian Pigs Finished in the Montanera Sustainable System

“…Its products, especially those derived from animals fattened under extensive, free-range conditions, feeding on acorns and grass in a silvopastoral system known as "montanera" from early November to late February [1], comply with these requirements [2] and their high content of oleic acid makes it healthier than other animal products [3]. This animal production system contributes to the conservation of the "dehesa" ecosystem (sparsely forested Mediterranean grassland) and also its preservation through the maintenance of traditional Iberian systems for the production of high-quality meat products [4]. Moreover, prior to any sustainability assessment, the acknowledgment of the traditional livestock production with Iberian pigs is a key factor.…”

Analysis of the Sustainability of Fattening Systems for Iberian Traditional Pig Production through a Technical and Environmental Approach

“…Environmental variables employed were derived from García-Gudiño et al [5]. Global warming (GW, kg CO 2 eq) and land occupation (LO, m 2 •year) were used for the environmental assessment in the present study.…”

“…Iberian traditional pig production has a significant role in the Spanish pig industry, where intensive systems are predominant [1]. The sustainability of traditional livestock systems being less competitive than conventional systems [2] has been possible by added values offered [3][4][5]. This greater product differentiation and value-adding over time has shifted the interest to outdoor pig production systems by consumers [6] with a more critical view towards intensive livestock production [7].…”

“…Previous works on environmental assessment showed a completely different conclusion of that resulted from an economic analysis in livestock systems [18]. Studies on livestock production in the dehesa have addressed the technical-economic [2,19,20] and environmental assessment [5,21,22] on singles pieces in general. Therefore, it is of great importance to evaluate the actual situation of Iberian pig production in the dehesa through different economic and environmental analytical approaches aiming to balance the economic and environmental pillars of the sustainability of the traditional Iberian pig production.…”

Effect of fattening period length on intramuscular and subcutaneous fatty acid profiles in Iberian pigs finished in the montanera sustainable system

“…The products made from the Iberian pig breed, especially those derived from animals fattened under extensive, free-range conditions, feeding on acorns and grass in a silvopastoral system known as "montanera", comply with these requirements [1] and its high content of oleic acid makes it healthier than other animal products [2]. This animal production system contributes to the conservation of the "dehesa" ecosystem (sparsely-forested Mediterranean grassland) and also the preservation of it through the maintenance of traditional Iberian systems for the production of high-quality meat products [3]. Also, prior to any sustainability assessment the acknowledgment of the traditional livestock production with Iberian pigs is a key factor.…”