Mitigating environmental impacts using net energy system in feed formulation in China's pig production

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As the world's largest pork producer, China is facing substantial environmental pressures caused by pig production and the relevant feed production. The net energy (NE) system is promoted as a new evaluation method to evaluate energy content in feed and energy requirements of pigs, but its application lacks of comprehensive and comparative evaluation from the environmental perspective. To identify influence factors and to develop mitigation strategies, the carbon and nitrogen footprints and land use (LU) of pigs (25–120 kg) in China were explored through scenario analysis and cradle-to-farm gate life cycle assessment (LCA). Functional unit (FU) was defined as 1 kg of live weight increase in pig. Among all the procedures of pig production, feed crop production and manure management were the principal contributors to the greenhouse gas (GHG) and nitrogen emissions. As for the carbon footprint, the GHG emissions ranged from 2.37 to 2.55 kg CO2-eq. FU−1 for scenarios using the NE system, 2 % lower than that of the metabolizable energy (ME) system. Cottonseed meal-based scenario generated the lowest GHG emissions, and anaerobic digestion achieved the same effects as other manure management methods. As for the nitrogen footprint, reactive nitrogen (Nr) emissions ranged from 53.4 to 66.2 g Nr FU−1 for scenarios using the NE system, 4 % lower than that of the ME system. Peanut-based scenario won the lowest Nr losses. Moreover, arable LU ranged from 4.63 to 5.85 m2 FU−1 for scenarios using the NE system, 4 % lower than that of the ME system, and economic advantage by using the NE system was also proved. Sensitivity analysis and data quality assessment were conducted to quantify the uncertainties of the above models. In conclusion, the application of the NE system in feed formulation was an effective strategy to improve the environmental sustainability of China's pig production.