Environmental performance of laying poultry in na intensive and automated system in Southern Brazil

Abstract

Eggs are an animal protein of high nutritional value and is considered an alternative source to red meat. It is accessible to all social extracts. In addition, substantial demand growth is expected in the coming decades, which requires a significant increase in production volume. Consequently, there is a question of how these eggs will be produced. The current production systems must meet demands related to environmental sustainability, ensuring food security in terms of production volume and product safety. Thus, this study assesses the environmental performance of intensive and automated egg production in conventional cages in the southern region of Brazil. The data that comprise the inventory were modeled from data collected on a farm between 2017 and 2018. We conducted the assessment using the methodology of life cycle analysis (LCA) and the software Open LCA v. 1.7.4. The functional unit (FU) used was one ton of eggs (equivalent to 17,873 units), and the results were allocated financially. The impact attribution method was CML 2002; the database was Ecoinvent v. 3.4. The impact categories evaluated were acidification, with a total impact of 6.47 kg SO2-eq/FU, eutrophication, with a result of 4.17 kg PO4-eq/FU, and a carbon footprint of 1,411.85 CO2-eq/FU. We conclude that the environmental externalities of egg production in Brazil’s southern region are similar to those reported by other studies worldwide. The production phase is responsible for about 85% of the environmental impacts in the categories evaluated. The feeding of birds contributes to the largest share of impacts.