Abstract
Pork is one of the proteins of greatest demand worldwide. This study has evaluated the environmental sustainability of pig production by applying the life cycle assessment methodological framework. The system boundaries include feed production, pig production, slaughtering, and slaughterhouse by-product management. Within this context, three scenarios have been proposed: the first related to the management of slaughter by-products in an open dump, the second contemplates a model for using these by-products in a rendering plant, and a third where the environmental burden of slaughterhouse co-products is portioned according to economic allocation. The primary data collected correspond to the period of 2019 for the facilities of a producer in a coastal province of Ecuador. Three functional units were used—“1 kg of pig carcass at the slaughterhouse gate”, “1 kg pig live weigh at the farm gate”, and “1 kg of feed at the plant gate”. The impact categories included were global warming, fossil depletion, marine eutrophication, ozone layer depletion, particulate matter formation, photochemical oxidation formation, and terrestrial acidification. The results revealed that the production of ingredients for feed is the largest contributor to the environmental burden of pig and pork. The rendering of slaughter by-products that avoid the production of other fats and proteins results in a lower environmental impact than the other scenarios in almost all categories.
Highlights
IntroductionThe livestock sector worldwide affects nutrition and human health, guaranteeing subsistence and reducing poverty [1]; a significant impact is attributed to the environment since it is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions [2,3]
The author explains that this is because it included CO2 emissions due to pig metabolism (CH4, N2 O, and NH3 emissions); without this inclusion, the value would be 3.5 kg CO2 -eq This study showed that the greatest contribution to climate change was the production of pigs, with 61%, of which 58% resulted from the metabolism of farm animals
The by-products generated at this stage should be used as food or feed
Summary
The livestock sector worldwide affects nutrition and human health, guaranteeing subsistence and reducing poverty [1]; a significant impact is attributed to the environment since it is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions [2,3]. Livestock and agricultural plantations in the food sector are the main factors responsible for the change in land use, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity caused by the extensive area devoted to forage production and the expansion of pastures; change in global climate due to greenhouse gas emissions during the enteric fermentation process and manure handling; change in water use and pollution and loss of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, due to the excessive use of fertilizers with nutrients (N and P) [8] and pesticides used in forage crops and grasslands [9].
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