Life Cycle Assessment

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
   1. Objectives
   2. Learning goals
   3. Teacher page
2. Course content: Life cycle assessment (LCA) of pork chains
   1. What are the environmental impact of food production?
   2. Global warming
   3. GWP of different foods
   4. Nutrient enrichment (eutrophication)
   5. Acidification
3. How to access environmental impact of pork?
   1. LCA of 1 kg Danish Pork
   2. What is included in a LCA?
   3. Phase 1
   4. Phase 2
   5. Phase 3
   6. Phase 4
   7. System expansion and allocation
4. LCA for different production Systems
   1. The Danish standard system
   2. The Danish organic system
   3. The French standard system
   4. The Alternative French system: Porc Basque
   5. Summary of performance and LCA in the four systems
5. Completion
   1. Comments
   2. Self-assessment
   3. Key messages
   4. Further reading and references
   5. Evaluation
   6. Acknowledgement

The Danish organic system

In the Danish organic system all pigs must have access to outdoor facilities. This can be an outdoor run with concrete floor or at pasture. All pigs must be kept in groups except for the last days of pregnancy and during lactation. Lactating sows must have 7.5m² indoor area per sow, and half of the floor must be slatted. According to the legislation lactation sows must have 2.5m²/sow in the outdoor area, but in practice nearly all lactating sows are kept on pasture with access to huts. All pigs have access to roughage and pregnant sows have access to nest building material the last week before farrowing. Piglets can be weaned at 7 weeks of age. Weaned piglets are kept in a post-weaning area with 0.6 or 0.8m²/piglet and access to and outdoor run with at least 0.4 or 0.6 m²/piglet depending on weight. Fattening pigs have 1.1 - 1.5m²/pig of indoor area and access to and outdoor run with at least 0.8 - 1.2 m²/pig depending on weight. Non-lactating sows have at least 2.5m²/sow in the indoor area and 1.9m²/sow in the outdoor run.

Sows and piglets living outdoors with access to a hut. Video: KRAV