Land-use change emissions from soybean feed embodied in Brazilian pork and poultry meat

Abstract

Fodder for feeding pork and poultry requires a large amount of cultivated and processed agricultural crops, which are often related to greenhouse gas emissions from land-use change (LUC). Given the rapid growth in meat production in Brazil for domestic consumption and international export, the link between LUC emissions and consumption of pork and poultry meat is central to evaluating the role of Brazilian meat production and the implications for international climate policies. In this paper, we first estimate LUC emissions from soybean production destined to feed pork and poultry in Brazil during the period 2008–2012. Second, we allocate such emissions to domestic and international consumption of pork and poultry meat. Concerning international consumption, Brazilian export of meat to 189 countries is evaluated. Although the majority of the LUC emissions from soybean production are tied to the domestic consumption, 17% and 39% of the emissions embodied in Brazilian pork and poultry, respectively, are exported to other countries. The most prominent destinations of Brazilian pork and poultry in terms of embodied LUC emissions are Eastern Europe, Asia and South America. In the case of pork, the fluxes of emissions from Brazil to Ukraine (1.28 Mt CO2-eq) and Russia (1.18 Mt CO2-eq) are particularly large. In the case of poultry, the largest transfers of embodied emissions are from Brazil to developing countries and especially the Middle East. These results are relevant to environmental policies and international agreements aimed at achieving the sustainability of Brazil's meat sector.