Trade-offs in the externalities of pig production are not inevitable

This study investigates the co-variation among four major externality costs (land use, greenhouse gas emissions, antimicrobial use, and animal welfare) in UK and Brazilian pig production systems. The findings reveal that no single farming type consistently performs well across all domains. Systems with low land use generally exhibit low greenhouse gas emissions but high antimicrobial use and poor animal welfare, and vice versa. However, some individual systems perform well across all domains, irrespective of farming type. This suggests that mitigation efforts should focus on improving practices within existing system types rather than solely transitioning between farming types.

Harriet Bartlett, Márcia Zanella, Beatriz Kaori, Leandro Sabei, Michelle S. Araujo, Tauana Maria de Paula, Adroaldo J. Zanella, Mark A. Holmes, James L. N. Wood, Andrew Balmford