The source of performance and excretion data affects the environmental impact of pig rearing estimated by life cycle assessment

Monteiro, Alessandra; Dourmad, Jean-Yves; Moreira, Camila de Araújo; Rossi, Robson Marcelo; Ferreira, Leonardo Felipe Malavazi; Costa, Alcides Emanuel Rodrigues da; Pozza, Paulo César

doi:10.1139/cjas-2019-0022

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To keep improving the environmental performance of animal production, quantified impacts should be included in the decision-making process at the farm or on the company scale ( 93 ) and for policy making ( 94 ). In this context, specificity and accuracy of data used to model animal performance and emissions is key to have reliable quantification of the effects of a strategy ( 95 ), and further research is encouraged to fill the gaps identified. Interaction with types of manure management and other mitigating measures has to be studied (precision feeding, technological measures, manure treatment, anaerobic digestion for energy production, etc.)…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amino Acid Supplementation to Reduce Environmental Impacts of Broiler and Pig Production: A Review

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Poultry and swine farming are large contributors to environmental impacts, such as climate change, eutrophication, acidification, and air and water pollution. Feed production and manure management are identified as the main sources of these impacts. Reducing dietary crude protein levels is a nutritional strategy recognized to both decrease the use of high-impact feed ingredients and alter manure composition, reducing emissions of harmful components. For a successful implementation of this technique, feed-grade amino acid supplementation is crucial to maintaining animal performance. Reducing crude protein lowers nitrogen excretion, especially excess nitrogen excreted in urea or uric acid form, improving nitrogen efficiency. At the feed-gate, low–crude protein diets can reduce the carbon footprint of feed production through changes in raw material inclusion. The magnitude of this reduction mainly depends on the climate change impact of soybean meal and its land-use change on the feed-grade amino acids used. Reducing dietary crude protein also lowers the environmental impact of manure management in housing, storage, and at spreading: nitrogen emissions from manure (ammonia, nitrates, nitrous oxide) are reduced through reduction of nitrogen excretion. Moreover, synergetic effects exist with nitrogen form, water excretion, and manure pH, further reducing emissions. Volatilization of nitrogen is more reduced in poultry than in pigs, but emissions are more studied and better understood for pig slurry than poultry litter. Ammonia emissions are also more documented than other N-compounds. Low–crude protein diets supplemented with amino acids is a strategy reducing environmental impact at different stages of animal production, making life cycle assessment the best-suited tool to quantify reduction of environmental impacts. Recent studies report an efficient reduction of environmental impacts with low–crude protein diets. However, more standardization of limits and methods used is necessary to compare results. This review summarizes the current knowledge on mitigation of environmental impacts with low–crude protein diets supplemented with amino acids in poultry and swine, its quantification, and the biological mechanisms involved. A comparison between pigs and poultry is also included. It provides concrete information based on quantified research for decision making for the livestock industry and policy makers.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amino Acid Supplementation to Reduce Environmental Impacts of Broiler and Pig Production: A Review

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…If an increase in nitrogen losses in the manure is related to a given ingredient choice, it is expected that this modification will lead to higher GHG emissions and probably other major consequences too (65). In this context, strategies that mitigate nutrient excretion, such as enzyme supplementation (75), synthetic amino acid partially replacing protein crops, or the use of low-protein diets (6,42,57), can potentially mitigate the environmental impacts of both pig and poultry production. The modification of the feed formulation method (89) and the adoption of precision feeding techniques (46,90) are also very important and innovative tools.…”

Section: Importance Of Feeding Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Impacts of Pig and Poultry Production: Insights From a Systematic Review

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pig and poultry production systems have reached high-performance levels over the last few decades. However, there is still room for improvement when it comes to their environmental sustainability. This issue is even more relevant due to the growing demand for food demand since this surplus food production needs to be met at an affordable cost with minimum impact on the environment. This study presents a systematic review of peer-reviewed manuscripts that investigated the environmental impacts associated with pig and poultry production. For this purpose, independent reviews were performed and two databases were constructed, one for each production system. Previous studies published in peer-reviewed journals were considered for the databases if the method of life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to pig (pork meat) or poultry (broiler meat or table eggs) production to estimate at least the potential effects of climate change, measured as CO2-eq. Studies considering the cradle-to-farm gate were considered, as well as those evaluating processes up to the slaughterhouse or processor gate. The pig database comprised 55 studies, while 30 publications were selected for the poultry database. These studies confirmed feeding (which includes the crop cultivation phase, manufacturing processes, and transportation) as the main contributor to the environmental impact associated with pig and poultry production systems. Several studies evaluated feeding strategies, which were indicated as viable alternatives to mitigate the environmental footprint associated with both production chains. In this study, precision feeding techniques are highlighted given their applicability to modern pig and poultry farming. These novel feeding strategies are good examples of innovative strategies needed to break paradigms, improve resource-use efficiency, and effectively move the current productive scenario toward more sustainable livestock systems.

show abstract

Environmental impacts of feeding crops to poultry and pigs

Andretta

Remus

Franceschi

et al. 2021

Environmental Impact of Agro-Food Industry and Food Consumption

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The source of performance and excretion data affects the environmental impact of pig rearing estimated by life cycle assessment

Cited by 4 publications

References 19 publications

Amino Acid Supplementation to Reduce Environmental Impacts of Broiler and Pig Production: A Review

Amino Acid Supplementation to Reduce Environmental Impacts of Broiler and Pig Production: A Review

Environmental Impacts of Pig and Poultry Production: Insights From a Systematic Review

Environmental impacts of feeding crops to poultry and pigs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About