Evaluation of the sustainability of contrasted pig farming systems: economy.

The aim of this paper is to present an efficient tool for evaluating the economy part of the sustainability of pig farming systems. The selected tool IDEA was tested on a sample of farms from 15 contrasted systems in Europe. A statistical analysis was carried out to check the capacity of the indicators to illustrate the variability of the population and to analyze which of these indicators contributed the most towards it. The scores obtained for the farms were consistent with the reality of pig production; the variable distribution showed an important variability of the sample. The principal component analysis and cluster analysis separated the sample into five subgroups, in which the six main indicators significantly differed, which underlines the robustness of the tool. The IDEA method was proven to be easily comprehensible, requiring few initial variables and with an efficient benchmarking system; all six indicators contributed to fully describe a varied and contrasted population.

Evaluation of the sustainability of contrasted pig farming systems: development of a market conformity tool for pork products based on technological quality traits.

A market conformity tool, based on technological meat quality parameters, was developed within the Q-PorkChains project, to be included in a global sustainability evaluation of pig farming systems. The specific objective of the market conformity tool was to define a scoring system based on the suitability of meat to elaborate the main pork products, according to their market shares based on industry requirements, in different pig farming systems. The tool was based on carcass and meat quality parameters that are commonly used for the assessment of technological quality, which provide representative and repeatable data and are easily measurable. They were the following: cold carcass weight; lean meat percentage; minimum subcutaneous back fat depth at m. gluteus medius level, 45 postmortem and ultimate pH (measured at 24-h postmortem) in m. longissimus lumborum and semimembranosus; meat colour; drip losses and intramuscular fat content in a m. longissimus sample. Five categories of pork products produced at large scale in Europe were considered in the study: fresh meat, cooked products, dry products, specialties and other meat products. For each of the studied farming systems, the technological meat quality requirements, as well as the market shares for each product category within farming system, were obtained from the literature and personal communications from experts. The tool resulted in an overall conformity score that enabled to discriminate among systems according to the degree of matching of the achieved carcass and meat quality with the requirements of the targeted market. In order to improve feasibility, the tool was simplified by selecting ultimate pH at m. longissimus or semimembranosus, minimum fat thickness measured at the left half carcass over m. gluteus medius and intramuscular fat content in a m. longissimus sample as iceberg indicators. The overall suitability scores calculated by using both the complete and the reduced tools presented good correlation and the results obtained were similar. The tool could be considered as robust enough to discriminate among different systems, since it was tested in a wide range of them. It also can be used to detect improvement opportunities to enhance sustainability of pig farming systems. The final objective of the study was achieved, since the market suitability tool could be used in an integrated sustainability analysis of pig farming systems.

Evaluation of the sustainability of contrasted pig farming systems: the procedure, the evaluated systems and the evaluation tools.

Although a few studies consider the sustainability of animal farming systems along the three classical main pillars (economy, environment and society), most studies on pig farming systems address only one of these pillars. The present paper is the introduction to a series of companion papers presenting the results of a study undertaken within the EU-supported project Q-PorkChains, aiming at building a comprehensive tool for the evaluation of pig farming systems, which is robust to accommodate the large variability of systems existing in Europe. The tool is mostly based on questions to farmers and comprises a total of 37 dimensions distributed along eight themes: Animal Welfare, Animal Health, Breeding Programmes, Environmental Sustainability, Meat Safety, Market Conformity, Economy and Working Conditions. The paper describes the procedure that was used for building the tool, using it on 15 contrasted pig farming systems and analysing the results. The evaluated systems are briefly described and a short overview of the dimensions is provided. Detailed descriptions of the theme-wise tools and results, as well as the results of an integrated evaluation, are available in the companion papers.

Evaluation of the sustainability of contrasted pig farming systems: integrated evaluation.

The aim of this paper is to present an approach for an integrated evaluation of the sustainability of pig farming systems, taking into account the three classical pillars: economy, environment and society. Eight sustainability themes were considered: Animal Welfare (AW), Animal Health (AH), Breeding Programmes (BP), Environment (EN), Meat Safety (MS), Market Conformity (MC), Economy (EC) and Working Conditions (WC). A total of 37 primary indicators were identified and used for the evaluation of 15 much contrasted pig farming systems in five EU countries. The results show that the eight themes were not redundant and all contributed to the observed variation between systems. The tool was very robust for highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the systems along the eight themes that were considered. The number of primary indicators could be reduced from 37 to 18 with limited impact on the strengths/weaknesses profile of the individual systems. Integrating the eight theme evaluations into a single sustainability score is based on hypotheses or presumptions on the relative weights that should be given to the eight themes, which are very dependent on the context and on the purpose of the users of the tool. Therefore, the present paper does not have the ambition to provide a ready-for-use tool, rather to suggest an approach for the integrated evaluation of the sustainability of pig farming systems.

Evaluating environmental impacts of contrasting pig farming systems with life cycle assessment.

Environmental impacts of 15 European pig farming systems were evaluated in the European Union Q-PorkChains project using life cycle assessment. One conventional and two non-conventional systems were evaluated from each of the five countries: Denmark, The Netherlands, Spain, France and Germany. The data needed for calculations were obtained from surveys of 5 to 10 farms from each system. The systems studied were categorised into conventional (C), adapted conventional (AC), traditional (T) and organic (O). Compared with C systems, AC systems differed little, with only minor changes to improve meat quality, animal welfare or environmental impacts, depending on the system. The difference was much larger for T systems, using very fat, slow-growing traditional breeds and generally outdoor raising of fattening pigs. Environmental impacts were calculated at the farm gate and expressed per kg of pig live weight and per ha of land used. For C systems, impacts per kg LW for climate change, acidification, eutrophication, energy use and land occupation were 2.3 kg CO2-eq, 44.0 g SO2-eq, 18.5 g PO4-eq, 16.2 MJ and 4.1 m2, respectively. Compared with C, differences in corresponding mean values were +13%, +5%, 0%, +2% and +16% higher for AC; +54%, +79%, +23%, +50% and +156% for T, and +4%, -16%, +29%, +11% and +121% for O. Conversely, when expressed per ha of land use, mean impacts were 10% to 60% lower for T and O systems, depending on the impact category. This was mainly because of higher land occupation per kg of pig produced, owing to feed production and the outdoor raising of sows and/or fattening pigs. The use of straw bedding tended to increase climate change impact per kg LW. The use of traditional local breeds, with reduced productivity and feed efficiency, resulted in higher impacts per kg LW for all impact categories. T systems with extensive outdoor raising of pigs resulted in markedly lower impact per ha of land used. Eutrophication potential per ha was substantially lower for O systems. Conventional systems had lower global impacts (global warming, energy use, land use), expressed per kg LW, whereas differentiated systems had lower local impacts (eutrophication, acidification), expressed per ha of land use.

X-ray tomography using the full complex index of refraction.

We report on x-ray tomography using the full complex index of refraction recorded with a grating-based x-ray phase-contrast setup. Combining simultaneous absorption and phase-contrast information, the distribution of the full complex index of refraction is determined and depicted in a bivariate graph. A simple multivariable threshold segmentation can be applied offering higher accuracy than with a single-variable threshold segmentation as well as new possibilities for the partial volume analysis and edge detection. It is particularly beneficial for low-contrast systems. In this paper, this concept is demonstrated by experimental results.

Electrical stimulation affects metabolic enzyme phosphorylation, protease activation, and meat tenderization in beef.

The objective of this study was to investigate the response of sarcoplasmic proteins in bovine LM to low-voltage electrical stimulation (ES; 80 V, 35 s) after dressing and its contribution to meat tenderization at an early postmortem time. Proteome analysis showed that ES resulted in decreased (P < 0.05) phosphorylation of creatine kinase M chain, fructose bisphosphate aldolase C-A, ß-enolase, and pyruvate kinase at 3 h postmortem. Zymography indicated an earlier (P < 0.05) activation of µ-calpain in ES muscles. Free lysosomal cathepsin B and L activity increased faster (P < 0.05) in ES muscles up to 24 h. Immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy further indicated that lysosomal enzymes were released at an early postmortem time. Electrical stimulation also induced ultrastructural disruption of sarcomeres. In addition, ES accelerated (P < 0.05) the depletion of ATP, creatine phosphate, and glycogen, as well as a pH decline and the more preferred pH/temperature decline mode. Finally, ES accelerated meat tenderization, resulting in lesser (P < 0.05) shear force values than the control over the testing time. A possible relationship was suggested between a change in the phosphorylation of energy metabolic enzymes and the postmortem tenderization of beef. Our results suggested the possible importance of the activation of µ-calpain, phosphorylation of sarcoplasmic proteins, and release of lysosomal enzymes for ES-induced tenderization of beef muscle.