A New Approach to LCA Evaluation of Lamb Meat Production in Two Different Breeding Systems in Northern Italy

Abstract

Lamb meat production provides vital landscape-management and ecosystem services; however, ruminant farming produces a considerable share of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. To measure and compare the advantages and disadvantages of the intensification of livestock farming, an integrative analysis was conducted in this study by combining environmental impact analysis and animal welfare assessment. This approach is the first of its kind and is the innovative aspect of this paper. The methodology of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) entails the holistic analysis of various impact categories and the associated emission quantities of products, services, and resources over their life cycle, including resource extraction and processing, production processes, transport, usage, and the end of life. The outlines of LCA are standardized in DIN EN ISO 14040/14044. To assess the environmental impacts of the production of lamb meat in northern Italy, two case studies were undertaken using the LCA software GaBi. The analysis is based on primary data from two sheep-breeding systems (semi-extensive and semi-intensive in alpine and continental bioregions, respectively) combined with inventory data from the GaBi database and data from the literature. The assessment was conducted for the functional unit of 1 kg of lamb meat and focuses on the impact categories global warming potential, acidification potential, and eutrophication potential. For an overall evaluation of the supply chain, we have also considered a parameter indicating animal welfare, in keeping with consumer concerns, employing an analysis of chronic stress as shown by cortisol accumulation. The goal is to derive models and recommendations for an efficient, more sustainable use of resources without compromising animal welfare, meat quality, and competitiveness. The aim of this study is to provide a standard for individualized sustainability analyses for European lamb production systems in the future. From the LCA perspective, the more intensive case-study farm showed a lower impact in global impact factors and a higher impact in local impact categories in comparison with the more extensively run farm that was studied. From the animal welfare perspective, lower amounts of the stress hormone cortisol were found on the extensively managed case-study farm.

Sustainable Husbandry?—A Comparative LCA of Three Lamb Breeding Systems in Turkey

“…However, it is shown that extensive sheep farms have a significantly lower impact in terms of local impact factors like eutrophication and acidification [3,50]. In this respect, the findings regarding EP for breeds in extensive conditions in the trial conducted in Turkey were lower than those of other sheep production systems in Europe [11,50]. In Fig.…”

“…As a result, the meat industry induces approximately 80% of agricultural-based emissions. Intensive agriculture has been encouraged to reduce CO 2 emissions [11][12][13][14]. Hereby, the aim of the study is to assess the environmental impact of three sheep management systems in terms of global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, and land use.…”

“…Thus, new tools are needed for re-assessing the livestock sector within a developing understanding of different production systems to enhance the capacity to provide ecosystem services such as climate change adaptation, biodiversity, and natural resource conservation. Pasture-based husbandry is promoted for a variety of functions including biodiversity and landscape protection, especially in Mediterranean bioregions, which differ from the Continental bioregions with their dominant intensive production [ 3 , 11 , 20 ]. It is important to underline that the pastures are crucial entities in terms of CO 2 absorption capacity, biodiversity protection, erosion prevention, and the asset of forage crops.…”

Adaptation Response in Sheep: Ewes in Different Cortisol Clusters Reveal Changes in the Expression of Salivary miRNAs

“…Often, they are measured in plasma and serum. Still, it is considered preferable to measure them in other biological matrices including saliva, urine, feces, and hair because these matrices can be sampled without the risk of inducing a glucocorticoid response [5]. Moreover, the techniques of sampling and analysis available are feasible and practical for measuring to be performed both at an individual and group level [6].…”