Conference PaperPDF Available

Meat Production and Consumption: Environmental Consequences

October 2015
Procedia Food Science 5

DOI:10.1016/j.profoo.2015.09.041

License
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Conference: The 58th International Meat Industry Conference (MeatCon2015)

Authors:

Zoran Petrović

Institut za higijenu i tehnologiju mesa

Vesna Đorđević

Institut za higijenu i tehnologiju mesa

Dragan Milićević

Institute of meat hygiene and technology Belgrade Serbia

Ivan Nastasijevic

Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology Belgrade Serbia

Show all 5 authorsHide

Meat production is projected to double by 2020 due to increased, per capita global consumption of meat and population growth. The livestock sector is one of the most significant contributors to urgent environmental problems. In Europe, food consumption is responsible for approximately 30% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Meat generally has a considerably higher carbon footprint than plant-based food. This is especially true for beef, due to the emissions of methane (CH 4) from enteric fermentation in ruminants.

Resource use and waste generation data for a typical meat plant 18 .

…

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Procedia Food Science 5 ( 2015 ) 235 – 238

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Peer-review under responsibility of scientific committee of The 58th International Meat Industry Conference (MeatCon2015)

doi: 10.1016/j.profoo.2015.09.041

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

International 58th Meat Industry Conference “Meat Safety and Quality: Where it goes?”

Meat production and consumption: Environmental consequences

Zoran Petrovic

, Vesna Djordjevic

, Dragan Milicevic

, Ivan Nastasijevic

Nenad Parunovic

Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kacanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Abstract

Meat production is projected to double by 2020 due to increased, per capita global consumption of meat and population growth.

The livestock sector is one of the most significant contributors to urgent environmental problems. In Europe, food consumption is

responsible for approximately 30% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Meat generally has a considerably higher carbon

footprint than plant-based food. This is especially true for beef, due to the emissions of methane (CH

) from enteric fermentation

in ruminants.

Peer-review under responsibility of scientific committee of International 58th Meat Industry Conference “Meat Safety and

ality: Where it goes?” (MeatCon2015)”.

Keywords: meat production; gas emissions; environment; eco-efficiency; pollution; prevention

1. Introduction

The environmental impact of meat production varies because of the wide variety of agricultural practices

employed around the world. Some of the environmental effects that have been associated with meat production

are pollution through fossil fuel usage, and water and land consumption. Pre-farm production and transport of inputs

to the farm, are most importantly feed and fertilisers, but also fuels, pesticides, growth substrates, pharmaceuticals,

machinery, buildings and other capital goods; On-farm processes: soil emissions, emissions from enteric

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +381-11-2650-655; fax: +381-11-2651-825.

E-mail address: zoran@inmesbgd.com

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Peer-review under responsibility of scientific committee of The 58th International Meat Industry Conference (MeatCon2015)

236 Zoran Petrovic et al. / Procedia Food Science 5 ( 2015 ) 235 – 238

fermentation in animals, emissions from manure management, emissions from energy use on fields, in greenhouses,

in animal houses; Post-farm processes: slaughtering, processing and pack

aging, storage and refrigeration, transport

and distribution.

2. Global trends in overall meat consumption

According to a report from the Worldwatch Institute (WI), global meat production and consumption continues to

rise (Fig. 1a). Meat production has tripled over the last four decades and increased 20 percent in just the last 10

years. Industrial countries are consuming growing amounts of meat, nearly double the quantity in developing

countries.

World beef production is increasing at a rate of about 1 percent a year, in part because of population growth but

also because of

greater per capita demand in many countries (Fig. 1b). The largest fraction of the greenhouse effect

rom beef production comes from the loss of carbon-dioxide (CO

) absorbing trees, grasses and other year-round

plant cover on land where the feed crops are grown and harvested. Second most important is the methane (CH

)

given off by animal waste and by the animals themselves as they digest their food

When considering the future of sustainability, the outline of the food syste

m is a critical aspect. An understanding

of the factors that influence meat and fish consumption is important for developing a sustainable food production

and distribution system

. This is especially the case because the importance of the food system as a driver of global

environmental change can be expected to increase

. National dietary patterns not only have ecological and economic

development contexts, but also a regional/cultural context. Food consumption patterns, particularly meat and fish

nsumption, have serious consequences for environmental sustainability

4,5

a b

Fig. 1. (a) World Meat Production 1961-2010

; (b) World Beef Production

3. Livestock and methane emissions

Beef and dairy farming operations produce the greatest amount of CH

from human-related activities

, so

methane generated by ruminant production systems and its effects on global climate change is a cause for concern

rldwide

. In the United States, CH

comprised 14% of the total greenhouse gas 6 emitted in 2007 and 7% of this

methane was due to agriculture

. In an analysis of the EU-27countries, beef had by far the highest GHG emissions

with 22.6kg CO

-eq/kg

. The consumption of meat, dairy and eggs is increasing worldwide

, and this will

aggravate the environmental impact related to livestock production

Human dietary changes could produce a cascade of effects, t

hrough reduced production of livestock and manure,

lower feed demand, resulting in lower nitrogen (N) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and freeing up

agricu

ltural land for other purposes

. Cultured meat (i.e., meat produced in vitro using tissue engineering

techniques) is being developed as a potentially healthier and more efficient alternative to conventional meat. In

237

Zoran Petrovic et al. / Procedia Food Science 5 ( 2015 ) 235 – 238

comparison to conventionally produced European meat, cultured meat involves approximately 7–45% lower energy

use (only poultry has lower energy use), 78–96% lower GHG emissions, 99% lower land use, and 82–96% lower

ater use, depending on the product compared

. Despite high uncertainty, it is concluded that the overall

environmental impacts of cultured meat production are substantially lower than those of conventionally produced

meat

4. Eco-efficency and pollution prevention control in meat processing

Eco-efficiency is a concept being adopted by industries

world-wide as a means of improving environmental

performance and reducing costs. Its objectives are the more efficient use of resources and the reduction of waste,

with the two-fold benefits of reduced environmental burdens and reduced costs for resources and waste

management

16,17

The main resource inputs are water, energy, chemicals and pack

aging materials. These are typical of many food

processing sectors. The main resources consumed and wastes generated at a meat plant and the approximate

quantities for a typical plant are presented in Table 1

. However, meat processing plants use very large quantities of

water and energy. This is due to the highly perishable nature of the product, the need for high levels of sanitation

and the need to keep the product cool.

The main waste streams are wastewater and some solid waste. Much of the solid waste produced is organic and is

suitable for land-based disposal. The wastewater from a slaughterhouse can contain blood, manure, hair, fat,

eathers, and bones. Quantities of solid waste disposed to landfill are relatively small

The wastewater may have a high temperature, and m

ay contain organic material and nitrogen content. The meat

industry has the potential for generating large quantities of solid waste and waste waters with a biochemical oxygen

demand (BOD

) level of 600 mg/l (this can also be as high as 8,000 mg/l) or 10 to 20 kilograms per metric ton (kg/t)

of slaughtered animal and suspended solids level of 800 mg/l and higher, as well as, in some cases, offensive

odors

Table 1. Resource use and waste generation data for a typical meat plant

Resources use Daily quantity Per unit of production

Water 1,000 kl/day 7 kl/tHSCW

Energy Coal 8 t/day 53 kg/tHSCW

LPG 113 m

/day 0.8 m

/tHSCW

Electricity 60,000 kWh/day 400 kWh/tHSCW

Chemicals

Cleaning chemicals 200 l/day 1.3 l/tHSCW

Wastewater treatment chemicals 30 kg/day 0.2 kg/tHSCW

Oils and lubricants 30 l/day 0.2 l/tHSCW

Packaging

Cardboard 5 t/day 31 kg/tHSCW

Plastic 150 kg/day 1 kg/tHSCW

Strapping tape 105 kg/day 0.7 kg/tHSCW

Waste generation Daily quantity production

Wastewater Volume 850 kl/day 6 kl/tHSCW

Pollutant load

Organic matter (COD) 5,700 kg/day 38 kg/tHSCW

Suspended solids 2,055 kg/day 13.7 kg/tHSCW

Nitrogen 255 kg/day 1.7 kg/tHSCW

238 Zoran Petrovic et al. / Procedia Food Science 5 ( 2015 ) 235 – 238

Phosphorous 90 kg/day 0.6 kg/tHSCW

Solid waste

Paunch and yard manure 7 t/day 47 kg/tHSCW

Sludges and floats 6 t/day 40 kg/tHSCW

Boiler ash 0.7 t/day 5 kg/tHSCW

Cardboard 95 kg/day 0.6 kg/tHSCW

Plastic 10 kg/day 0.07 kg/tHSCW

Strapping tape 2 kg/day 0.01 kg/tHSCW

*Hot Standard Carcase Weight (HSCW) describes the weight of animal carcases after slaughter, dressing and evisceration and prior to chilling

and boning. For beef it is generally 55% of live weight. This unit is useful because it takes into account the variations in live weight between

different species and different plants.

5. Conclusion

Current production of meat has been shown to have a signi

ficant impact on the environment and also on current

GHG emissions. Meat consumption has been increasing at a significant rate and is likely to continue to do so into

the future. This paper consisely reviewed how increased demand, leading to more economically efficient meat

production systems, could potentially affect GHG production and local environment.

In regard to prevention, pollution decisions should be m

ade with regard to the proceses that generate waste.

Process integration and installation of new equipment provide a framework for cost-effective pollution prevention

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Mar 2004
ECOL ECON

Production and consumption of meat and fish have serious consequences for global food security and the environment. An understanding of the factors that influence meat and fish consumption is important for developing a sustainable food production and distribution system. For a sample of 132 nations, we use ordinary-least-squares (OLS) regression to assess the effects of modernization and ecological context on per capita meat and fish consumption. We find that ecological conditions in a nation, such as resource availability and climate, influence meat and fish consumption. Additionally, indicators of modernization, particularly economic development, influence the consumption of both meat and fish. However, the effect of economic development on consumption patterns is distinctly different among geographic regions. We conclude that in order to understand national dietary patterns, researchers need to take into account not only ecological context and economic development, but also regional/cultural factors.

Environmental sustainability in agriculture: Diet matters

Article

Dec 1997
ECOL ECON

Robert Goodland

There is no agreement that diet matters for environmental sustainability in the agriculture sector. Much current agriculture is unsustainable and worsening; the environmental impact of agriculture degrades natural capital (e.g. loss of topsoil, waste and pollution of water, nutrient loss, extinction of species). Cattle raising is one of the most damaging components of agriculture. Livestock now eat about half of global grain production. There is limited scope for improving food supply and what scope there is will further damage the environment. All means to improve nutrition, especially for the poor, will be needed as population increases. One such means is to improve diets of the rich by eating lower down the food chain. While most people in the world thrive on mainly grain-based diets, carnivory is high in OECD and is increasing in LDCs. In order to reduce food wastage and to improve health and food availability, a food conversion efficiency tax is proposed. The least efficient converters (pork, beef) would be highly taxed; more efficient converters (poultry, eggs, dairy) would be moderately taxed. Most efficient converters (ocean fish) would be taxed lowest. Grain for human food would not be taxed, while coarse grains might be modestly subsidized. Non-food agriculture also would be taxed: highest on tobacco and on starches destined for alcoholic beverages produced from land suitable for food production.

The Queensland food eco-efficiency project: Reducing risk and improving competitiveness

Article

Dec 2007
J CLEAN PROD

For the past several years, cleaner production, or what is now commonly referred to as eco-efficiency by the business sector, has been promoted widely, but in a relatively ad-hoc manner. As a consequence, the advantages to industry and society stemming from the uptake of eco-efficiency have been difficult to quantify and assess. This paper details how the Queensland Food Processing Eco-Efficiency Project has attempted to overcome some of these barriers by implementing a two year project focused on: involving and gaining the support of as much of the industry sector as possible; using external expertise, providing the support and technical advice essential to the successful uptake of eco-efficiency by businesses; establishing the key environmental concerns for the industry; identifying realistic eco-efficiency opportunities through site assessments and visits; developing case studies based on quantifiable outcomes; developing tools and resources to enable businesses to successfully implement their own eco-efficiency initiatives; the wide and free distribution of these resources and tools to the entire Queensland industry; follow up workshops and awareness briefings together with the eventual development of a forum to allow effective industry networking to continue.