Version 1
: Received: 12 July 2024 / Approved: 13 July 2024 / Online: 15 July 2024 (10:30:20 CEST)
How to cite:
Thoma, G. J.; Baker, B.; Knap, P. W. A Life Cycle Assessment Study of the Impacts of Pig Breeding on the Environmental Sustainability of Pig Production. Preprints2024, 2024071127. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1127.v1
Thoma, G. J.; Baker, B.; Knap, P. W. A Life Cycle Assessment Study of the Impacts of Pig Breeding on the Environmental Sustainability of Pig Production. Preprints 2024, 2024071127. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1127.v1
Thoma, G. J.; Baker, B.; Knap, P. W. A Life Cycle Assessment Study of the Impacts of Pig Breeding on the Environmental Sustainability of Pig Production. Preprints2024, 2024071127. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1127.v1
APA Style
Thoma, G. J., Baker, B., & Knap, P. W. (2024). A Life Cycle Assessment Study of the Impacts of Pig Breeding on the Environmental Sustainability of Pig Production. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1127.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Thoma, G. J., Banks Baker and Pieter W Knap. 2024 "A Life Cycle Assessment Study of the Impacts of Pig Breeding on the Environmental Sustainability of Pig Production" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1127.v1
Abstract
Lifecycle assessment (LCA) quantified changes in environmental impact categories (global warming, eutrophication, etc.) from 2021 to 2030 due to genetic trends in (re)production traits in pig lines of breeding company Genus-PIC. The 2030 levels were projected with se-lection index theory based on weightings of traits in the breeding goals and genetic covari-ances among them. Projected improvement was 0.9% annually for most impact categories. Another LCA compared impacts of 2021 North American pig production based on PIC ge-netics versus the industry average. Software openLCA converted material and energy flows to impact categories of frameworks ReCiPe-2016, PEF-3.1 and IPCC-2021. Flows came from data recorded by customers (1.1/4.7 million sows/finishing pigs) and by subscribers to a third-party data-aggregator (1.3/9.1 million). PIC genetics have a 7-8% better impact than industry average for 13/18 categories of ReCiPe-2016, 19/25 of PEF-3.1, and all categories of IPCC-2001. Pig breeding delivers positive environmental outcomes as correlated respons-es to selection for profitability-oriented breeding goals. This trend is additive; technology development will increase it. Different investment levels in breeding population structure and technology, and different operational efficiencies of breeding companies, cause substan-tial differences in the environmental impact of pig production.
Keywords
LCA; animal breeding; pig; environmental impact; climate change; global warming
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science and Zoology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
