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The environmental performance of different pork production scenarios: a life cycle assessment study

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Abstract

In order to evaluate the environmental performance generated by a “semi-technified” pig farm, as well as the comparison of different pig production scenarios, pig feed and animal production subsystems were evaluated considering both: (a) origin of feed ingredients and (b) variations in pig weight. Life cycle assessment methodology was used to evaluate the environmental performance, establishing 1 market pig as the functional unit (FU). Three ingredient origin distances (400, 950, and 1800 km) and three slaughter weights (110, 100, and 90 kg) were considered for the simulation analysis and comparison. The feed production subsystem was the main generator of environmental impacts, mainly caused by the cultivation of sorghum and the production of fat. The origin of the inputs represented the main increase in environmental impact for the feed production subsystem, mainly in the Fossil Depletion category, with a fivefold increase by acquiring inputs from 900 km and a ninefold increase at a distance of 1800 km. Producing lighter pigs resulted in the best environmental alternative, given the resultant 11% reduction in environmental impact.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available because they are property of a commercial farm but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the National Council for Science and Technology of Mexico for scholarship number 570063, granted to María del Rosario Villavicencio Gutiérrez for the purpose of carrying out her doctoral studies; the pork producer that kindly provided the information used in this study; and the UAEM 4219/2016SF research project.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Council for Science and Technology (Spanish abbreviation: CONACYT) with scholarship number 570063, granted to María del Rosario Villavicencio Gutiérrez for the purpose of carrying out her doctoral studies and The Autonomous University of the State of Mexico research project UAEM 4219/2016SF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias Y Rurales, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico, Instituto Literario 100, 50000, Centro, Toluca, Mexico

    M. R. Villavicencio-Gutiérrez, R. Martínez-Campos & F. E. Martínez-Castañeda

  2. Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Texcoco, Mexico

    N. A. Rogers-Montoya

  3. Centro Universitario UAEMex-Temascaltepec, Temascaltepec, Mexico

    G. Gómez-Tenorio

Authors
  1. M. R. Villavicencio-Gutiérrez
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  2. N. A. Rogers-Montoya
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  3. R. Martínez-Campos
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  4. G. Gómez-Tenorio
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  5. F. E. Martínez-Castañeda
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Contributions

María del Rosario Villavicencio-Gutiérrez: investigation, formal analysis, writing — original draft, software; Nathaniel Alec Rogers-Montoya: writing — review and editing; Angel Roberto Martínez-Campos: validation; Germán Gómez-Tenorio: resources; Francisco Ernesto Martínez-Castañeda: data curation, conceptualization, methodology, supervision.

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Correspondence to F. E. Martínez-Castañeda.

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Villavicencio-Gutiérrez, M.R., Rogers-Montoya, N.A., Martínez-Campos, R. et al. The environmental performance of different pork production scenarios: a life cycle assessment study. Trop Anim Health Prod 54, 44 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03045-6

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