assessing the carbon footprint of animal agriculture … education/2009/fall/cady 2.pdf ·...

Assessing the Carbon Footprint ofAnimal Agriculture

Dr. Jude Capper1, Dr. Roger A. Cady2,Dr. Dale Bauman3

1Washington State University, 2Elanco Animal Health, 3Cornell University

Prepared for: Ontario Association of Bovine Practioneers MeetingGuelph, Ontario, Canada

November 18, 2009

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There is a Human Tendency

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to Romanticize the Past;

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… to Vilify the Modern!

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Neither is a good representation…

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… and those that remember,might argue about the past!

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Sustainability is Not a Passing Fad

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…Consumers want to hear about sustainability,affordability, and efficiency—in that order

“In the United States, we need_______”.

More earth-friendly dairy farming 23%

More affordable milk 21%

More efficient milk production methods 15%

More environmentally friendly milk production tools 15%

More innovation in dairy farming 8%

More sustainable milk 7%

More land available to grow other foods 6%

More land set aside for parks and recreational use 4%

©2009 Luntz Malansky Strategic ResearchDBM 0304

Retailers Are Responding andAccelerating the Movement

Excerpted from: Wall Street Journal, Oct. 9, 2007DBM 0304

Meat, Milk & Egg Production is ClearlyBeing Held Accountable

• Livestock productionaccounts for 18% ofGreenhouse Gasemissions worldwide(UN/FAO, 2006)

• In the USA, contributionof Agriculture (in total) toGHG emissions isapproximately 6% (EPAReport on GHG Emissions, 2008)

• Ability to discussenvironmental benefits iscritical for development ofanimal productivityproducts

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Vegetarian Society (2008) http://www.vegsoc.org, Last accessed, July 26, 2009

In Fact – Animal Ag is Under Attack

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Key Headline Numbers of OfficialAgricultural Carbon Footprint Inventories

Reconciling the Reports

18

5.8

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

FAO (2006) EPA (2009)

%o

fT

ota

lC

-F

oo

tpri

nt

• FAO reportsanimal

agriculture only

• EPA reports allagriculture

Sources : Adapted from UN-FAO (2006) “Livestock’s Long Shadow “U.S. EPA (2009) “Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks:1990-2007”

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18

2.1

0.6

2.5

0.7

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

FAO (2006) EPA (2009)

%o

fT

ota

lC

-F

oo

tpri

nt

Human Crops

All Other Animal Ag

Dairy

Beef

Deforestation

•Human crops accountfor ~45% of U.S.

agriculture C-footprint

•Animal agricultureaccounts for 3.4% ofU.S. total C-footprint

•Ruminants account for~83% of animal

agriculture emissions

3.4


* Note: U.S. Livestock cropping % estimated as 3x of global estimateDBM 0375



8.5

9.5

3.40

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

FAO (2006) EPA (2009)

%o

fT

ota

lC

-F

oo

tpri

nt

Beef

Deforestation


* Note: U.S. Livestock cropping % estimated as 3x of global estimate

18%

3.4%R

efo

res

tatio

n

• Deforestation for animal feedand pasture included in FAOreport: 48% of FAO estimate

• Deforestation is a developingcountry phenomenon

• Reforestation creates acarbon sink

• U.S. is a reforesting country

• Reforesting not accountedfor in EPA report

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Forest Transition and Land Degradation in DryLands

Source : UN-FAO (2006) “Livestock’s Long Shadow “DBM 0375

7.0

2.08.5

1.5

0.8

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

FAO (2006) EPA(2009)

%o

fT

ota

lC

-F

oo

tpri

nt

Animal Crops *

Desertification

Manure

Enteric Fermentation

Deforestation



Re

fore

sta

tion

0.4

0.6

0.6

18%

3.4%

• U.S. animal agriculture C-footprint is <1/5 of global

animal agriculture C-footprint

• Reforestation reduces U.S.animal agriculture C-footprint even more

• Ignoring forestation, globalanimal agriculture C-

footprint is still ~3x largerthan U.S.


* Note: U.S. Livestock cropping % estimated as 3x of global estimateDBM 0375

Dairy Industry Response: Established anIndustry-Wide Goal

25% Reduction of Greenhouse GasEmissions from Fluid Milk by 2020

– Equivalent to removing 1.25 million passengercars from the road annually

– Committed to

• Sound science

• Establishing an industry benchmark

• Life Cycle Assessment

Source: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/04/14/dairy-industry-to-cut-milk-related-emissions-25-by-2020/,Last Accessed July 26, 2009 DBM 0304

2007 Carbon Footprint Summary for U.S. Milk

Source: 2009, Capper et. al, JAS, & Blue Skye Sustainability Consulting

Dairy Industry is the Most Well DefinedAnimal System to Date

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The Real Challenge: Global DemandRequires More Food

Sources: Green, R. et al. January 2005. “Farming and the Fate of Wild Nature.” Science 307.5709: 550-555; and Tilman, D. et al.August 2002. “Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices.” Nature 418.6898: 671-677.“World Agriculture: toward 2015/2030.” 2002. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome.Accessed 12/8/08. <ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/004/y3557e/y3557e.pdf

Technology’s Role in the 21stCentury: Food Economicsand Consumer

• Challenge to meet 100% increasein global food demands in 50 nextyears

• The global food industry needstechnology

• Consumers need choice

• The food production system canmitigate the food economicschallenge and achieve an“ultimate win.”

• Requires the continued use ofsafe and efficacious technologyand close collaboration across theentire global food chain.

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What is a Carbon Footprint?

Total GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions caused directlyand indirectly by an individual, organization or state ina given time

• Measured in CO2-equivalents in terms of environmentalheat capturing capability

CO2CH4

N2O

1 23 298

Source: http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/Report/AR4WG1_Print_Ch02.pdf,Last accessed, July 26, 2009

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Carbon cycle??

Source: Scottish Centre for Carbon Storage (2009) http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/sccs/public/teachers/ Last accessed, 9/15/09

The Carbon Checkbook Must Balance

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“Greenwashing” Undermines the Value ofResponsible Efforts and Is Unacceptable

1. Carbon-free sugar

2. Organic rocks

3. Certified organic sea salt(NaCl)

4. Organic cigarettes

5. No-calorie energy drinks

6. Organic charcoal

7. Carbon-neutral insurance

8. Zero-carb alcoholic drinks

9. Carbon-free shipping

10. Carbon-free computing

Source: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/05/04/sugar-coated-consumerism-or-just-plain-crap/, Last accessed July 26, 2009

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EPA Has A Clearly Prescribed Standard forEnvironmental Sustainability Evaluation

“Life Cycle Assessment”

Last Accessed, July 26, 2009 DBM 0304

Life Cycle Assessment

Source: http://nzbcsd.org.nz/emissions/content.asp?id=423, Last Accessed July 26, 2009

© 2009, New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development

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Within the System Boundary Is aDefined “Scope Analysis”

Manufacturingor Production

Process

ResourceInputs

By-products

ProductScope 2

Scope 1

Scope 3

Essentially an Enterprise Accounting Systemfor Resources Instead of Finances

© 2009, New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development

Source: http://nzbcsd.org.nz/emissions/content.asp?id=423,Last Accessed July 26, 2009

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Every System Is Composed of Subsystems and In-turnIs a Subsystem of a Larger System

Each System Within the Boundary DefinitionRequires a Scope Analysis

CropAg

Feed

System Boundaries

Industry

Tech-nolgy

AnimalProduction

GHG

Protein

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Overview of LCAFrom Earth back to Earth Tracking

Four Basic Stages• Goal & Scope

Definition• Inventory Analysis• Impact Assessment• Interpretation

Key Components• Raw material acquisition• Materials manufacture• Production• Use/reuse/maintenance• Waste management• System boundaries• Assumptions• Conventions used• By-product output

expressed per unit ofoutput

Source: http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/lcaccess/lca101.html, May 12, 2009 DBM 0304

Essential to Assess Impact per Unit of Output Rather

Than per Unit of the Production Process

Vehicle 1 Vehicle 2Fuel Burned in 5 hrs: 70 gal 10 gal

Distance Traveled: 350 mi (5 mpg) 350 mi (35 mpg)Production

Process

Passengers: 50 4

People Miles: 17,500 1,400

People MPG: 250 140

Output

Winner

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Appropriate Food Animal Production Units

• Dairy – per unit of milk (eg. lb, kg, g, or l)

or dairy product (eg. cheese)

• Meat – per unit of meat (eg. lb or kg)

and/or no. of specific type of cut

• Eggs – per number of eggs

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Three States of Activity to Accountfor in an LCA

Physical Plant(Machine)

Animal Corollary

Off Deceased

Idle At Rest (Maintenance)

Performing Production (Growth,Lactation, Reproduction)

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Scientific Efforts Have Focused onReducing Animal and Farm Emissions

Improve metabolic (feed)efficiency

Improve nutrition– Ration balancing

– Feeding management

Improve croppingpractices & technology

Improve manuremanagement– Storage

– Processing

– Application

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Productivity is Not a New Concept

“When the population of this countryincreases to 200,000,000 itshould be easily possible forthe additional supply of dairyproducts needed to beproduced not by more, but bybetter dairy cows….

The average milk production of UScows is about 4,500 pounds ayear. If this were increased at arate of 100 pounds a year, in 45years the average milkproduction per cow would bedoubled. The present numberof cows could then supplysufficient dairy products at thepresent rate of consumption forconsiderably more than200,000,000 people.“

J.C. McDowell, US Yearbook of Agriculture (1927)

19531927

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Animals are Not Cars: They Have a Maintenance CostDilution of Maintenance is a Key Consequence of Productivity

Adapted from Capper et al. (2008), PNAS

Milk yield (lb/d): 15 33 65

10.3

4.7

10.3

10.6

10.3

20.8

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Dai

lyEn

erg

yR

eq

uir

em

en

t-M

EM

cal/

d

Maintenance Milk

Based on 1,435 lb/cow

51%

49%

0.63 Mcal/lb67%

33%

0.48 Mcal/lb

31%

69%

1.0 Mcal/lb

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1/8 of a Dry Cow

+

97% of a Heifer

Infrastructure Maintenance Must Also Be AssessedIt Takes a Herd to Make Milk

• Maintenance Feed

• Water– Intake

– Sanitation

• Greenhouse Gases(Carbon Footprint)

– CO2 - Carbon Dioxide

– CH4 - Methane

– N2O - Nitrous Oxide

• Land

• Manure

• Fuel

• Electricity

• Herbicides & Pesticides

Increases

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Production Process Footprint Not NecessarilyIndicative of Industry Capacity to Reduce Impact

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

CO

2-E

qu

iva

len

tE

mis

sio

ns

(lb

/d)

1944 2007

Carbon Footprint of the Cow Has Doubled

Source: Capper et., al., JAS, 2009

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

CO

2-E

qu

ival

en

tEm

issi

on

s(l

b/g

al)

1944 2007

Carbon Footprint per Gallon of Milk Reduced 2/3

Net Result: U.S. Dairy Farm Industry has Reducedits Total Carbon Footprint by 41% Since 1944

Net Result: U.S. Dairy Farm Industry has Reducedits Total Carbon Footprint by 41% Since 1944

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Productivity is the Reason

U.S. Productivity has Quadrupled Since 1944

0

2,500

5,000

7,500

10,000

12,500

15,000

17,500

20,000

22,500

1944

1951

1958

1965

1972

1979

1986

1993

2000

2007

An

nu

al

Mil

kA

vera

ge

Mil

kp

er

Co

w(l

bs)

59% More Milk with 64% Fewer Cows

1944 2007

U.S. Dairy Cows U.S. Milk Production

Source: USDA-NASS, http://www.nass.usda.gov (May, 2009)

25.6mil

9.2mil

117billbs

186billbs

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60 lb

20071944

Practical Application of Dilution of Maintenance:Increasing Productivity Reduces Environmental Impact

Source: Capper, et. al., 2009, JAS DBM 0304

Environmental Impact of Milk Production HasBeen Considerably Reduced Since 1944

443%

21% 23% 35%10% 24% 37%

59%

0%

100%

200%

300%

400%

500%

MilkProduction

per Cow

Animals* Feed* Water* Land* Manure* CarbonFootprint*

TotalIndustry CF

Source: Capper et al., 2009, JAS

1944

1944 Production System• Average herd size: 6• Pasture based feed system• Natural service breeding• No antibiotics• No hormones• No mfg inorganic fertilizer

2007 Production System• Average herd size: 155

• TMR rations

• 70% AI breeding

• Antibiotics 1st available 1955

• Hormones 1st available 1970s

• Fertilizer 1st available 1946

* Note: per unit of milkDBM 0304

Increased Production Reduces Carbon FootprintPer Gallon of Milk

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

CO

2E

qu

iva

len

tlb

sEm

issi

on

sp

erG

alo

fM

ilk

50 55 60 65 70

Daily Milk Production (lbs/cow)

Source: Adapted from Capper et al. (2008) PNASDBM 0304

Dairy Cattle Milk Productivity Trends for4 Major World Milk Producing Regions

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

An

nu

alM

ilk

/Co

w(k

g)

Euro-6 NZ CAN US

* Euro-6 represents 2/3 of the cow’s milk produced in the EU in 2007Source: FAO(2009) http://faostat.fao.org/ Last accessed, 8/14/09

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Animals* Required to Produce1 Billion Kg of Milk (2007)

0

1

2

3

4

5

Euro-6 NZ CAN US

10

0,0

00

An

ima

ls

1.01.11.4 2.4

Note: * Includes lactating and dry cows, heifer replacements, and breeding bullsNumbers inside bars are a relative ratio to the most efficient countryEuro-6 represents 2/3 of the cow’s milk produced in the EU in 2007

Source: Adapted from FAO(2009) http://faostat.fao.org/ Last accessed, 8/14/09DBM 0375

Real Life Challenge: Meeting China’s New2008 RDI for Milk

• Chinese Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of milk raised to 300 g

• Represents a three-fold increase in the Chinese RDI

• 300 g is a modest requirement, only 44% of the US RDI

Source: - U.S. Dairy Export Council, July 2008

Recommended Daily Intake(RDI) of Milk

* Includes heifers and bulls

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Future US Demand for Dairy Products Best Met viaImproved Productivity

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Lan

dre

qu

ire

d('

00

0,0

00

acre

s)

withTechnology

Conventional Organic

-5%

+30%

Capper et al. (2008) PNASDBM 0304

Summary

Environmental stewardship is a critical responsibility offood animal agriculture

Science-based standards are in place for assessingenvironmental impacts

Essential to evaluate environmental impact per unit ofoutput rather than simply by unit of production

Productivity is an important contributing factor inreducing the food animal industry’s environmental impact

Essential need exists to understand and discuss the roleand environmental consequences of technology

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What Does This Represent?

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Thank you!

Questions?

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