Browsing by Author "Opio, Carolyn"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Livestock : On our plates or eating at our table? A new analysis of the feed/ food debate
    (Global food security, 2017) Mottet, Anne; De Haan, Cees; Falcucci, Alessandra; Tempio, Giuseppe; Opio, Carolyn; Gerber, Pierre
    Livestock contribute to food security by supplying essential macro- and micro-nutrients, providing manure and draught power, and generating income. But they also consume food edible by humans and graze on pastures that could be used for crop production. Livestock, especially ruminants, are often seen as poor converters of feed into food products. This paper analyses global livestock feed rations and feed conversion ratios, with specific insight on the diversity in production systems and feed materials. Results estimate that livestock consume 6 billion tonnes of feed (dry matter) annually – including one third of global cereal production – of which 86% is made of materials that are currently not eaten by humans. In addition, soybean cakes, which production can be considered as main driver or land-use, represent 4% of the global livestock feed intake. Producing 1 kg of boneless meat requires an average of 2.8 kg human-edible feed in ruminant systems and 3.2 kg in monogastric systems. While livestock is estimated to use 2.5 billion ha of land, modest improvements in feed use efficiency can reduce further expansion.
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    Mitigating greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from swine manure management: a system analysis
    (Environmental science & technology, 2017) Wang, Yue; Dong, Hongmin; Zhu, Zhiping; Gerber, Pierre J.; Xin, Hongwei; Smith, Pete; Opio, Carolyn; Steinfeld, Henning; Chadwick, Dave
    Gaseous emissions from animal manure are considerable contributor to global ammonia (NH3) and agriculture greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Given the demand to promote mitigation of GHGs while fostering sustainable development of the Paris Agreement, an improvement of management systems is urgently needed to help mitigate climate change and to improve atmospheric air quality. This study presents a meta-analysis and an integrated assessment of gaseous emissions and mitigation potentials for NH3, methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) (direct and indirect) losses from four typical swine manure management systems (MMSs). The resultant emission factors and mitigation efficiencies allow GHG and NH3 emissions to be estimated, as well as mitigation potentials for different stages of swine operation. In particular, changing swine manure management from liquid systems to solid–liquid separation systems, coupled with mitigation measures, could simultaneously reduce GHG emissions by 65% and NH3 emissions by 78%. The resultant potential reduction in GHG emissions from China’s pig production alone is greater than the entire GHG emissions from agricultural sector of France, Australia, or Germany, while the reduction in NH3 emissions is equivalent to 40% of the total NH3 emissions from the European Union. Thus, improved swine manure management could have a significant impact on global environment issues.
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    Productivity gains and greenhouse gas emissions intensity in dairy systems
    (Livest. Sci., 2011) Gerber, Pierre J.; Vellinga, Theun; Opio, Carolyn; Steinfeld, Henning
    This paper explores the relationship between productivity of dairy production and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on a global scale. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used to assess GHG emissions from dairy production and processing chains. Milk yield expressed as kg fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM) per animal was chosen as a proxy for system productivity. On a per cow basis, GHG emissions increase with higher yields. However, GHG emissions per kg FPCM decline substantially as animal productivity increases. The contribution of different gases to total GHG emissions of dairy production systems vary; methane and nitrous oxide emissions decrease with increasing productivity, while carbon dioxide emissions increase, but on a lower scale. Productivity increase therefore offers not only a pathway to satisfying increasing demand for milk but also a viable mitigation approach, especially in areas where milk yields are currently below 2000 kg/cow and year.