Eco-friendly diet: nutrient digestibility, nitrogen and energy balances and growth performance of growing pigs.

The traditional approach to formulating pig diets is based only on minimizing cost while meeting nutritional requirements and thus does not consider the environmental impacts associated with producing feed ingredients. To reduce the overall environmental impact of pork production, feed ingredients can be considered to formulate environmentally friendly diets. However, their potential effects on pig performance could decrease environmental benefits at the farm gate.

Analysis of milk production and greenhouse gas emissions as a function of extreme variations in forage production among French dairy farms.

Many studies that investigate mitigation strategies of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions from farming systems often build farm typologies from average data from multiple farms. Results from farm typologies are useful for general purposes but fail to represent variability in farm characteristics due to management practices or climate conditions, particularly when considering consequences of extreme environmental events. This limitation raises the issue of better distinguishing, within datasets of farms, farms that have average characteristics from those that deviate from average trends, in order to improve assessment of how climate variability influences farm performance.

Eco-Friendly Feed Formulation and On-Farm Feed Production as Ways to Reduce the Environmental Impacts of Pig Production Without Consequences on Animal Performance.

Animal feeding has a major contribution to the environmental impacts of pig production. One potential way to mitigate such effects is to incorporate an assessment of these impacts in the feed formulation process. The objective of this study was to test the ability of innovative formulation methodologies to reduce the impacts of pig production while also taking into account possible effects on growth performance.

Contribution of LCA to decision making: A scenario analysis in territorial agricultural production systems.

Territorial Life Cycle Assessment (TLCA) appears a promising method to support informed decision making of local actors in territorial agricultural production systems (TAPS), by assessing environmental impacts of agricultural activities and potential strategies. The objectives of this study were to i) adapt TLCA methodology to integrated environmental assessment of TAPS and ii) evaluate TLCA's contribution to supporting informed decision making by assessing scenarios of change in TAPS. A TLCA of the agricultural sector was performed for a territory in the Aube department in France, including main crops and animal production types from raw material extraction to the first stage of processing.

Allocation factors for meat coproducts: Dataset to perform life cycle assessment at slaughterhouse.

The sharing of total environmental impacts between the different products of a multi-output system is crucial in Life Cycle Assessment. ISO standards recommend subdivision then substitution methods when possible. Sometimes, allocations rules are necessary.

Life cycle inventory data on French organic waste treatments yielding organic amendments and fertilisers.

To inform the modelling of organic waste treatments yielding organic amendments and fertilisers in France, published as "Screening LCA of French organic amendments and fertilisers" [1], we compiled data pertaining to the chemical characteristics of both raw and treated organic residues, as well as inventory data on the most common organic waste treatments. The majority of these life cycle inventory data was obtained from reports and other literature, but primary data was also compiled, notably for commercial organic fertiliser production. The data presented here can be used by future life cycle assessment studies on organic waste treatments, as well as to inform agricultural modelling.

Multiobjective formulation is an effective method to reduce environmental impacts of livestock feeds.

Environmental and economic performances of livestock production are related largely to the production of complete feeds provided on commercial farms. Formulating feeds based on environmental and economic criteria appears a suitable approach to address the current challenges of animal production. We developed a multiobjective (MO) method of formulating feed which considers both the cost and environmental impacts (estimated via life cycle assessment) of the feed mix.

ECOALIM: A Dataset of Environmental Impacts of Feed Ingredients Used in French Animal Production.

Feeds contribute highly to environmental impacts of livestock products. Therefore, formulating low-impact feeds requires data on environmental impacts of feed ingredients with consistent perimeters and methodology for life cycle assessment (LCA). We created the ECOALIM dataset of life cycle inventories (LCIs) and associated impacts of feed ingredients used in animal production in France.

Emergy evaluation of contrasting dairy systems at multiple levels.

Emergy accounting (EmA) was applied to a range of dairy systems, from low-input smallholder systems in South Mali (SM), to intermediate-input systems in two regions of France, Poitou-Charentes (PC) and Bretagne (BR), to high-input systems on Reunion Island (RI). These systems were studied at three different levels: whole-farm (dairy system and cropping system), dairy-system (dairy herd and forage land), and herd (animals only). Dairy farms in SM used the lowest total emergy at all levels and was the highest user of renewable resources.

LCA and emergy accounting of aquaculture systems: towards ecological intensification.

An integrated approach is required to optimise fish farming systems by maximising output while minimising their negative environmental impacts. We developed a holistic approach to assess the environmental performances by combining two methods based on energetic and physical flow analysis. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a normalised method that estimates resource use and potential impacts throughout a product's life cycle.

Digesta transit in different segments of the gastrointestinal tract of pigs as affected by insoluble fibre supplied by wheat bran.

Digestibility is the result of two competing processes: digestion and digesta transit. To develop or parameterise mechanistic models of digestion, both processes have to be quantified. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of insoluble dietary fibre on the transit in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs.