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4 January 2024 An assessment of the environmental sustainability of beef production in Canada
Isaac A. Aboagye, Gayathri Valappil, Baishali Dutta, Hugues Imbeault-Tétreault, Kim H. Ominski, Marcos R.C. Cordeiro, Roland Kröbel, Sarah J. Pogue, Tim A. McAllister
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Abstract

This study assessed the environmental impacts of beef cattle production and their effects on the overall sustainability of Canadian beef production. Cradle to farm gate, cradle to processor’s gate, and cradle to consumer plate life cycle assessments were carried out to quantify greenhouse gases (GHG), resource use (i.e., water, land, and fuel), and potential water and air pollution (i.e., freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, and photochemical oxidants formation). Across the production chain, feed production had the greatest impact on most environmental indicators. The GHG intensity without dairy meat was estimated as 10.4 kg CO2-eq per kg of live weight (LW), corresponding to 32.8 kg CO2-eq per kg of consumed boneless beef. Including dairy meat reduced GHG intensity by 5.8% (0.6 kg CO2-eq kg LW–1) compared to when it was excluded. Other environmental metrics per kg of LW were 657 L, 38.7 m2 annual crop-eq, 0.4 kg oil-eq, 2.6 kg P-eq, 115.9 kg SO2-eq, and 8.7 kg NOx-eq for water use, land use, fossil fuel use, freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, and photochemical oxidants, respectively. Data provide benchmarks for use in future regional and national assessments that are designed to encourage the adoption of sustainable management practices that can lower the environmental footprint of Canadian beef production.

Isaac A. Aboagye, Gayathri Valappil, Baishali Dutta, Hugues Imbeault-Tétreault, Kim H. Ominski, Marcos R.C. Cordeiro, Roland Kröbel, Sarah J. Pogue, and Tim A. McAllister "An assessment of the environmental sustainability of beef production in Canada," Canadian Journal of Animal Science 104(2), 221-240, (4 January 2024). https://doi.org/10.1139/cjas-2023-0077
Received: 14 July 2023; Accepted: 20 November 2023; Published: 4 January 2024
JOURNAL ARTICLE
20 PAGES

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KEYWORDS
beef value chain
Carbon footprint
Energy use
land use
Life Cycle Assessment
water use
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