Eco-Efficient Pork: The Role of Genetics in Cutting Carbon Emissions

Jan 27, 2025

Reducing our global carbon emission is crucial for a number of reasons including climate change mitigation, sea level rise prevention, and air quality improvement. Addressing these concerns is a global responsibility to protect future generations. To do our part, we have now completed a report using Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) methodology to quantify the real impact of genetic improvement of Hypor pigs.

It is well known that animal protein production is a significant contributor to carbon emissions and in the past, efficiency of livestock systems was mainly driven by economic incentive. We are now committed to sustainable swine breeding that considers total impact including economics, ethics, and environmental impact. Choices we make in animal genetics today impact the future and are multiplied in the thousands or even millions of animals.

Where can genetics make an impact ?

Studies have demonstrated that genetic improvement leads to a visible reduction of the ecological footprint of the animal protein value chain. Feed is the main contributor to the ecological footprint of animal protein, and we sought out to answer the question: how do improved FCR rates contribute to lower CO2 emissions and reduced land usage by the commercial customers of our products?

Click here to see more...

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.