Almost 30 percent of the world's ice-free land is used to raise livestock. J. Anim. The flavours, however, are of real meat. It is important that similar studies be carried out on all the major beef breeds that are present in South Africa. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), the production, processing and distribution of meat requires huge outlays of . Figure 8. The genetic and phenotypic trends for MCW for all four breeds are summarized in Table 2 and illustrated in Figures 4, 5, respectively. But it's not just what meat you eat but also how it's produced that matters. Over the last 50 years, emphasis was on breeding animals to meet specific, sometimes artificial, breed standards while using genetic information to select animals that conform to specific production norms. Evol. Epstein, H. (1971). J. Anim. In South Africa, the official definition of a LSU is the equivalent of an ox with a live weight of 450 kg, which gains 500 g per day on grass pasture with a mean digestible energy of 55%. Data from: Environmental footprints of beef cattle production in the The principles of LSU, the feed requirements of the different frame sizes and the classification of the breeds into the different frame sizes in South Africa is described in Scholtz et al. 1. Rumination allows cattle - and other ruminant species - to digest fibrous feeds that cannot be directly consumed by humans and thus to make a net positive contribution to food balances. Products from the meat, aquaculture, eggs and dairy industries already use around 83% of the worlds farmland and contribute more than half of foods emissions - so its no surprise that this study confirmed that a plant-based diet remains the most sustainable choice. Available online at: http://agtr.ilri.cgiar.org/Casestudy/case-mpofu-1-TuliBoran-31.htm (accessed January 7, 2020). If we all went plant-based, wed halve CO2 emissions, acidification, and eutrophication associated with our diets, and reduce the amount of land used to grow our food by 76% globally. These values were averaged within birth years and used for the estimation of the genetic and environmental trends, by regressing the average values on year of birth (Zishiri et al., 2010). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The decrease in the phenotypic trend for ICP found in this study can be attributed of many factors; including, but not limited to better record keeping by both farmers and the breeder's societies, management decisions to cull cows that do not reconceive regularly or within a specified period of time and sticker application of breed standards in respect of fertility. Heritability estimates for the traits and the genetic correlations between them, published by Van der Westhuizen et al. Direct genetic trend for weaning weight in the four landrace breeds. Figure 1. The relationship between cow weight and LSU is also not linear. MS, FN, and AM conceived the investigation. One possible reason for this may be a lack of data, especially in the case of the Nguni where the level of recording is low. The Economist. Requests to access these datasets should be directed to Corrie Van Zyl, VanZylC@arc.agric.za. Secondly, the relative emphasis on pre-weaning and post-weaning traits between the breeds may be a reason for the differences demonstrated. Beef production carries an enormous environmental footprint, contributing to land and water degradation, deforestation, acid rain, biodiversity loss, and even the degeneration of coral reef. Wall, E., Simm, G., and Moran, D. (2010). College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. The phenotypic changes in cow productivity (KgC/LSU) and its component traits are summarized in Table 3. Zishiri, O. T., Cloete, S. W. P., Olivier, J. J., and Dzama, K. (2010). The Bonsmara (+17.5 kg) and Drakensberger (+8.5 kg) also showed a positive phenotypic trend for MCW, in contrast to the Afrikaner (8.3 kg) and Nguni (17.3 kg). Agric. Cultured Meat: Better Than The Real Thing? Some beef breeds have shown remarkable genetic change for specific traits, but whether this resulted in genetic improvement in efficiency of production and a lower environmental impact is not clear. Sci Total Environ 718:137273, Arrieta EM, Cabrol DA, Cuchiettia A, Gonzlez AD (2020) Biomass consumption and environmental footprints of beef cattle production in Argentin. 48:88. doi: 10.1186/s12711-016-0266-1. It is also important to partition the phenotypic observed performance into its respective components in order to determine the extent that genetic or environmental trends or both are influencing the observed trends; as well as climate change. How big this footprint is, however, differs drastically depending, Tomatoes are a staple ingredient in many homes across Europe, but the story of how they reach your, During my first year of university, I went to the supermarket to buy an avocado and (its with, Alongside the dramatic rise in health conscious and vegan diets, cashew nuts are fast becoming the, Although its commonly misperceived as a natural expansion of deserts, desertification of once, Keep updated with the latest news about your food with our newsletter. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). Keywords: At the same time, environmental sustainability issues are acute. and transmitted securely. weaning weight, cow weight, and fertility (as measured by inter-calving period) was also investigated. Lastly, the effects of climate change on breed adaptation, and the availability and quality of the nutrition may be an explanation. In the case of the Nguni cow productivity increased by 10.4% (Table 3). J Environ Qual 42:13861394, Peters GM, Rowley HV, Wiedemann S, Tucker R, Short MD, Schulz M (2010) Red meat production in Australia: life cycle assessment and comparison with overseas studies. 46, 3336. It is recommended that similar studies be done on all the major beef breeds in South Africa, especially those that rely on regular importation of genetic material. Any reduction in the carbon footprint of beef production will contribute to future sustainability. Tomatoes in Italy: The Social Cost of Production, Desertification: The Vicious Cycle Between Land Degradation and Climate Change. Recent research into production potential of indigenous cattle with special reference to Sanga (Review). This adds to the environmental. environmental impact of beef production in the United States: 1977 For this study, the three component traits that influence cow productivity were identified as (1) weaning weight of the calf, (2) feed requirements to produce the calf, and (3) the frequency (calving percentage) at which a calf is produced. But many experts say it's too early to tell what the true environmental impact of cultured meat will be until production scales up. A group of researchers at Oxford University and Agroscope (the Swiss Agricultural Research Institute) have found large differences in the environmental impact between different producers of meat and animal products. 50, 1991, Berlin J (2002) Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of Swedish semi-hard cheese. eCollection 2022 Feb. Galyean appreciation club review: a holistic perspective of the societal relevance of beef production and its impacts on climate change. The environmental impacts of beef cattle production and their effects on the overall sustainability of beef have become a national and international concern. Tessier L, Bijttebier J, Marchand F, Baret PV (2021) Identifying the farming models underlying Flemish beef farmers practices from an agro ecological perspective with archetypal analysis. RLHUSMARC Germ Plasm Evaluation Report 10, 12. Int J Life Cycle Assess 12(2):109117, Castanheira EG, Dias AC, Arroja L, Amaro R (2010) The environmental performance of milk production on a typical Portuguese dairy farm. Calving Percentage [derived from ICP] (205-day corrected weaning weight of calf/cow LSU). The study indicated that improving productivity would be important if the environmental impact of beef production is to be reduced. The use of a cluster analysis in across herd genetic evaluation for beef cattle. A sustainable food system is comprised of three different, but intersecting, pillars: social responsibility, economic viability and environmental stewardship. To give you an idea of scale, farms range in size from around 0.5 hectares in Uganda to 3000 hectares in Australia; and the use of mineral fertiliser ranges from 1kg of nitrogen per hectare in Uganda to 300kg in China.1. Environmental Impact of Beef Production Systems | SpringerLink Agric Syst 103:380389, Cederberg C, Sonesson U, Henriksson M, Sund V, Davis J (2009) Green-house gas emissions from production of meat, milk and eggs in Sweden 1990 and 2005. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy, Centro di ricerca Zootecnia e Acquacoltura, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'Analisi dell'Economia Agraria (CREA), Italy. (1989). J. Poore & T. Nemecek (2018) Reducing foods environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science. Du Toit et al. Available online at: http://www.sbmaonline.org.br/~anais/v/palestras/pdfs/palest08.pdf (accessed April 25, 2016). doi: 10.2527/jas1985.614844x, Frisch, J. E. (1981). Since, the anticipated climate change will have a negative effect on the livestock production environments, it will become more important to match the genotype with the production environment. L'estimation de l'impact climatique de l'agriculture doit tenir compte des services que celle-ci rend la socit. A critical analysis of cow-calf efficiency in extensive beef production systems. J Clean Prod 140:421435, Gerber P, Vellinga T, Opio C, Steinfeld H (2011) Productivity gains and greenhouse gas emissions intensity in dairy systems. Available online at: https://www.sasas.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Mokolobate_vol-10_Issue_1. Erratum for the Research Article "Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers" by J. Poore and T. Nemecek. It is proposed that selection indices are developed for cow productivity, which can be extended to a carbon footprint selection index. Paraguayan beef cattle farming is characterized by being developed mostly in pastures or grasslands, but recently the practice of finishing confined to feedlots has thrived. Well have to wait and see. To achieve this, multi trait selection indices will have to be developed that increase cow productivity for South Africa's landrace breeds. 3, 929935. The Environmental Impact of Changes in Cow Productivity and Its The characteristics of the beef production systems all over the world are analyzed, together with the goal and scope, the types of analysis (methods for the evaluation of the carbon footprint), the functional units generally implemented for the analyses, the allocation methods, and the uncertainties of the studies. In the case of Nguni cattle, for example, they are currently farmed with in areas that were traditionally regarded as unsuitable for cattle farming. It is possible that climate change may have an effect in this phenomena. 2013 Jan;1:469-89. doi: 10.1146/annurev-animal-031412-103727. Carbon footprint of products. http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessment_report_synthesis_report.htm, IPCC (2007b) Intergovernmental panel on climate change 2007. It will be estimated if these changes had an effect on cow productivity, where cow productivity will be expressed as a ratio between outputs (calf weaning weight) and inputs (derived from the cow weight) and the resultant effect on the carbon footprint, which is defined as kg methane/kg calf weaned. Animals 14(S3):427437, Pelletier N, Pirog R, Rasmussen R (2010) Comparative life cycle environmental impacts of three beef production strategies in the Upper Midwestern United States. Despite environmental trade-offs, dairy milk is a critical, low-impact FoodUnfolded isn't just about food - it's also about people. Thorne, M. S., and Stevenson, M. H. (2007). Sel. The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The question that may be asked is whether these breeds have reached the limit of their performance for the specific environment. Meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gases from food University of the Free State, Bloemfontein South Africa. XIII. They chiefly relate to the low efficiency of beef cattle in converting natural resources into edible products. I. Cow productivity and calf performance to weaning. Its status as an, More milk, fewer farmers and a sinking demand: So why has the price of milk been falling? Sci. It should be noted that the cow-calf production cycle is responsible for ~72% of the energy consumed in beef cattle from conception to slaughter (Ferrell and Jenkins, 1982). 9, 1120. This is similar to the Animal Unit used in North America (Thorne and Stevenson, 2007). Entry-points for environmental sustainability improvement are discussed within this broader development context. 5, 106119. The performance and pedigree data of seed stock animals of the four landrace breeds (Afrikaner, Bonsmara, Drakensberger, and Nguni), over a period of 2530 years were used to estimate the genetic and environmental trends. S. Afr. - Better Inhabitants Industrial Sustainability | Sustainability What Is The Environmental Impact of Meat Production? Ethical review and approval was not required for the animal study because the datasets were obtained from the INTERGIS, which stores all data from the National Beef Recording and Improvement Scheme. Received: 17 July 2021; Accepted: 09 September 2021; Published: 04 October 2021. In all the breeds it is evident that an improvement in fertility (shorter ICP) increase cow productivity and reduce the carbon footprint. It is also valuable where cattle convert crop residues and by-products into edible products and where they contribute to soil fertility through their impact on nutrients and organic matter cycles. We grow a lot of crops to feed animals, and we cut down a lot of forests to do. Tubiello FN, Salvatore M, Rossi S, Ferrara A, Fritton N, Smith P (2013) The FAOSTAT database of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
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