Environmental Impacts of the Brazilian Egg Industry: Life Cycle Assessment of the Battery Cage Production System
Author:
Maciel Fabiane de Fátima1ORCID, Gates Richard Stephen2ORCID, Tinôco Ilda de Fátima Ferreira1ORCID, Pelletier Nathan3ORCID, Ibarburu-Blanc Maro A.4ORCID, Renato Natalia dos Santos1ORCID, Sousa Fernanda Campos de1ORCID, Andrade Rafaella Resende5ORCID, Silva Guilherme Moreira de Melo6, Becciolini Valentina7ORCID
Affiliation:
1. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-900, MG, Brazil 2. Departments of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and Animal Science, Iowa State University (ISU), Ames, IA 50011, USA 3. Faculties of Science (Biology) and Management, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada 4. Egg Industry Center, Iowa State University (ISU), Ames, IA 50011, USA 5. Department of Biosystems Engineering, College of Agronomy, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia 74690-900, GO, Brazil 6. Grupo Mantiqueira Brasil, Primavera do Leste 78850-000, MT, Brazil 7. Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, 50145 Florence, Italy
Abstract
Brazil stands as one of the world’s leading producers of animal protein, ranking sixth in global egg production. However, estimated growth in production demand, along with environmental impacts, represents a potential threat to the sustainability of the food system. Methods for assessing and quantifying the environmental impacts generated by Brazilian egg production remain scarce, lacking current reports on comparative effects or guiding standards. The objective of this study was to conduct a life cycle assessment from cradle to farm gate, adhering to ISO 14040 and 14044 standards, for the battery cage egg production systems and associated products in Brazil, with the aim of supporting and promoting sustainability improvements in the Brazilian egg industry. The entire life cycle modeling and process sustainability analysis were executed using the openLCA software, integrated with the Ecoinvent database. Emissions related to egg production yielded results of 65.06 kg SO2 eq., 27.74 kg N eq., 3086.71 kg CO2 eq., 75,152.66 CTUe, 2.75 × 10−5 CFC-11 eq., and 10,044.68 kg MJ eq. per ton of eggs produced. These findings can serve as comparative benchmarks for future studies and for analyzing data across different egg production systems in Brazil.
Funder
Coordination of Superior Level Staff Improvement, Brazil National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Brazil Minas Gerais Research Support Foundation, Brazil
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