Selected Aspects of Reducing the Carbon Footprint in Pig Farming
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17108/ActAgrOvar.2025.66.2.99Keywords:
pig nutrition, sustainability, alternative protein sources, environmental impactAbstract
Pig production faces major environmental challenges, particularly in the field of nutrition. Reducing the dietary CO₂ footprint is of crucial importance, as most emissions stem from feed production primarily due to the use of protein ingredients such as soy. Since soy is largely imported, its use raises significant environmental and sustainability concerns. This paper aims to present various options that feeding systems of sustainable pig production can consider to mitigate their environmental impact, alongside strategies and innovations that may help reduce the CO₂ footprint. A brief overview is given of the environmental aspects of pig production, including the potential impacts arising from the transportation and manufacture of feed and feed ingredients. The paper also discusses the opportunities provided by the rational selection of protein crop species and varieties, as well as potential future directions that could contribute to lowering the environmental burden of pig production. Based on the available evidence, it can be concluded that achieving general sustainability objectives in pig production requires the localised cultivation of feed crop adapted to prevailing climate conditions, coupled with the use of innovative processing technologies that minimise field losses and energy consumption while reducing the production-related CO₂ footprint. Harvesting both vegetative and generative plant parts of various field crops at the optimal time for protein yield, and their subsequent use as fermented feed ingredients, may provide effective processing solutions.
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