Sustainable livestock production: Low emission farm - The innovative combination of nutrient, emission and waste management with special emphasis on Chinese pig production

Trends in Burdens of Disease by Transmission Source (USA, 2005-2020) and Hazard Identification for Foods: Focus on Milkborne Disease

BACKGROUND

Robust solutions to global, national, and regional burdens of communicable and non-communicable diseases, particularly related to diet, demand interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary collaborations to effectively inform risk analysis and policy decisions.

OBJECTIVE

U.S. outbreak data for 2005-2020 from all transmission sources were analyzed for trends in the burden of infectious disease and foodborne outbreaks.

METHODS

Outbreak data from 58 Microsoft Access® data tables were structured using systematic queries and pivot tables for analysis by transmission source, pathogen, and date. Trends were examined using graphical representations, smoothing splines, Spearman's rho rank correlations, and non-parametric testing for trend. Hazard Identification was conducted based on the number and severity of illnesses.

RESULTS

The evidence does not support increasing trends in the burden of infectious foodborne disease, though strongly increasing trends were observed for other transmission sources. Morbidity and mortality were dominated by person-to-person transmission; foodborne and other transmission sources accounted for small portions of the disease burden. Foods representing the greatest hazards associated with the four major foodborne bacterial diseases were identified. Fatal foodborne disease was dominated by fruits, vegetables, peanut butter, and pasteurized dairy.

CONCLUSION

The available evidence conflicts with assumptions of zero risk for pasteurized milk and increasing trends in the burden of illness for raw milk. For future evidence-based risk management, transdisciplinary risk analysis methodologies are essential to balance both communicable and non-communicable diseases and both food safety and food security, considering scientific, sustainable, economic, cultural, social, and political factors to support health and wellness for humans and ecosystems.

Insights into the reduction of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and mobile antibiotic resistance genes by black soldier fly larvae in chicken manure

The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) from animal manure has raised concerns about the potential threats to public health. The bioconversion of animal manure with insect larvae, such as the black soldier fly larvae (BSFL, Hermetia illucens [L.]), is a promising technology for quickly attenuating ARB while also recycling waste. In this study, we investigated BSFL conversion systems for chicken manure. Using metagenomic analysis, we tracked ARB and evaluated the resistome dissemination risk by investigating the co-occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and bacterial taxa in a genetic context. Our results indicated that BSFL treatment effectively mitigated the relative abundance of ARB, ARGs, and MGEs by 34.9%, 53.3%, and 37.9%, respectively, within 28 days. Notably, the transferable ARGs decreased by 30.9%, indicating that BSFL treatment could mitigate the likelihood of ARG horizontal transfer and thus reduce the risk of ARB occurrence. In addition, the significantly positive correlation links between antimicrobial concentration and relative abundance of ARB reduced by 44.4%. Moreover, using variance partition analysis (VPA), we identified other bacteria as the most important factor influencing ARB, explaining 20.6% of the ARB patterns. Further analysis suggested that antagonism of other bacteria on ARB increased by 1.4 times, while nutrient competition on both total nitrogen and crude fat increased by 2.8 times. Overall, these findings provide insight into the mechanistic understanding of ARB reduction during BSFL treatment of chicken manure and provide a strategy for rapidly mitigating ARB in animal manure.

Use of Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) as a Sustainable Alternative in Pork Production

Pork production involves several sustainability issues. The recent increase in the natural wild boar population and the possibilities of its breeding to produce meat and for sport hunting have revived attention on this wild species. The most important factors that could account for its expansion and niche invasion are briefly summarized with the scientific opinion on management strategies. The information available to date on the quantitative, nutritional, and sensory characteristics of wild boar meat is reviewed to highlight its potential, if properly managed, as a sustainable option in meat production. This review reports on the opportunity of using wild boar meat in processed products and the need for research on processing qualities and acceptability for different final products. Above all, this review suggests that wild boar can be considered a sustainable alternative to meet the animal protein demand, as it can be established in marginal areas where it is already adapted to the environment, representing an interesting addition to traditional zootechnics.

Investigation of the direct utilization possibility of methane fermentation residue sludge as liquid fertilizer by micronization

For establishing a sustainable society, it is crucial to reuse the organic waste as a material resource. Therefore, herein, we aim to pulverize the methane fermentation residue sludge by ball milling and high-speed agitation to directly utilize it as a liquid fertilizer. The solid particles in the sludge can be below 100 µm, corresponding to the nozzle diameter of the boom sprayer by both ball milling and high-speed agitation; when ball milling was carried out for at least 1 h, the ratio of coarse particles larger than 100 µm decreased by less than 10%. In addition, the phosphate-ion concentration in the sludge increased with a decrease in the particle size of solid in the sludge mainly due to increase in its specific surface area. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of various experimental conditions for ball milling on the pulverization efficiency. Results suggests that for grinding the soft solid particles in the sludge by ball milling, the volume ratio of the total medium balls and sludge, total volumes of the balls and sludge, and inner pot volume should be larger, while the ratio of the rotation speed to the critical rotation speed should be almost the same as those reported previously in the reports on grinding of inorganic particles to attain an effective pulverization.

Scale Difference from the Impact of Disease Control on Pig Production Efficiency

Epidemic disease prevention plays a critical role in ensuring the healthy development of livestock farming, and the subjective willingness of breeders can be affected by the cost of epidemic disease prevention. To correct the misconception that farmers regard the cost of disease control as an ineffective cost, and to promote the healthy development of the pig breeding industry, our study employed the data envelopment analysis super-efficiency model and panel threshold regression model to evaluate the combination of the cost of epidemic disease prevention and swine productivity using data collected from 1998-2018 across 30 provinces in China. The following results were obtained. (1) The cost of epidemic disease prevention generated a non-linear on swine productivity when the swine farming scale was limited; (2) When the number of animals at the beginning of the year was less than 6.0002, swine productivity was impacted negatively; (3) When the number of animals at the beginning of the year ranged between 6.0002 and 12.9994, the impact was insignificant; (4) A strong correlation was observed between the expenses of epidemic disease prevention and animal productivity when the number of animals at the beginning of the year exceeded 12.9994. These results indicate that publicity should be enhanced to elucidate the combination of epidemic disease prevention and swine productivity among breeders. In addition, the government should introduce relevant policies to encourage the development of large-scale pig farming, such as subsidies for the construction of large-scale farms and insurance.

Using remote sensing to identify liquid manure applications in eastern North Carolina

Nutrient pollution from farm fertilizers and manure is a global concern. Excess nitrogen and phosphorous has been linked to algal blooms and a host of other water quality issues. In the U.S., most animal production occurs in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) housing a significant number of animals in a confined space. CAFOs tend to cluster in space and thus generate large quantities of manures within a small area. Liquid manure from CAFOs is often stored in open-air lagoons and then applied via irrigation to crops on nearby 'sprayfields'. The full scope and extent of CAFO impacts remain unclear because of the paucity of public information regarding animal numbers, barn and lagoon locations, and manure management practices. Where and when manure is applied on the landscape is key missing data that is needed to better understand and mitigate consequences of CAFO management practices. The aim of this study was to detect land applications of liquid manure using a remote sensing approach. We used random forest models incorporating C-Band synthetic-aperture radar, multispectral imagery, and other predictors to examine soil moisture conditions indicating probable liquid manure applications across known sprayfields in eastern North Carolina. Our models successfully distinguished saturated and unsaturated soils within corn, soybean, grassland, and 'other' crops, with 93-98% accuracy against validation for clear weather periods during the dormant, early, and late growing seasons. A Kruskal-Wallis test revealed that the mean soil saturation frequency was significantly higher on sprayfields than non-sprayfields of the same crop type (p < 2.2e-16). We also found that manure applications were concentrated within ∼1 km from the point of generation. This is the first application of satellite-based radar for identifying the location and timing of manure applications over broad areas. Future work can build on these methods to further understand manure management at CAFOs, as well as to improve pollution source tracking and modeling.

Determinants of Sick and Dead Pig Waste Recycling-A Case Study of Hebei, Shandong, and Henan Provinces in China

Improper handling of sick and dead pigs may seriously affect public health, socio-economic conditions, and eventually cause environmental pollution. However, effective promotion of sick and dead pig (SDP) waste recycling has become the prime focus of current rural governance. Therefore, the study explores the impact of commitment, rewards, and punishments to capture the recycling behavior of farmers' sick and dead pig waste management. The study employs factor analysis, the probit model, and the moderating effect model to craft the findings. The study's empirical setup comprises the survey data collected from the Hebei, Shandong, and Henan provinces, representing the major pig-producing provinces in China. The study found that the commitment, reward, and punishment mechanisms are essential factors affecting the farmers' decision-making on recycling sick and dead pig waste. The marginal effect analysis found that the reward and punishment mechanism is more effective than the farmers' commitment. The study confirmed that in the recycling treatment of sick and dead pig waste, the farmers' commitment and the government's reward and punishment policy are the main factors that influence farmers to manage sick and dead pig waste properly. Therefore, the government should highlight the importance of effective waste management, and training facilities should also be extended firmly. The government should impose strict rules and regulations to restrict the irresponsible dumping of farm waste. Monitoring mechanisms should be put in place promptly.

Analysis of approaches to waste management of pig farms

This paper aims to analyze effective approaches to waste management in agro-industrial cluster. It considers the studies confirming the relevance and importance of the development of technologies for processing and recycling of waste from the agro-industrial cluster, and, in particular, waste from pig farms. The methods of system analysis, information synthesis, statistical data analysis were used to identify the existing problems. The period from 2000 to 2020 was considered. The most popular directions and production branches have been identified. Quantitative analysis of scientific works on recycling and disposal of waste of agro-industrial cluster was carried out. Based on the data obtained, graphs were built, comparisons were made, conclusions were drawn about the demand for the development of resource-saving technologies, and waste recycling. Based on the analysis of the existing approaches, the authors proposed a cluster form of organization and waste management.

The Effect of Sustainability-Related Information on the Sensory Evaluation and Purchase Behavior towards Salami Products

Consumer's interest in sustainable livestock farming methods has grown in response to concerns for the environment and animal welfare. The purpose of this study is to examine the different influences of sustainability product information on sensory characteristics and purchase behaviors. To accomplish this aim, the study used salami, which is an Italian-style sausage processed by fermentation and drying. Three different types of information were provided: salami made from the pork of an antibiotic-free pig (SMAFP), of an animal welfare pig (SMAWP), and of a grazing pig (SMGP). This study was conducted as an off-line experiment with Korean participants (n=140). As a result, there were sensory differences according to the sustainability information. For the SMAFP, it had a significant difference in, sourness (p<0.05). With the SMAWP, there was a difference in gumminess (p<0.10), and the SMGP had significant differences in sourness (p<0.01), sweetness (p<0.01), andmoisture (p<0.05). Moreover, the purchase intention and willingness to pay were significantly higher when the sustainability information was given. Especially, among the three types of salamis, participants were willing to pay the most for the SMAWP. This is one of the first consumer studies to investigate sensory evaluation and purchase behavior for various types of sustainable livestock production. These results contribute by helping sustainable meat producers and marketers become aware of the kind of sustainable information to which consumers are sensitive.

Impact of reduced dietary crude protein levels and phytase enzyme supplementation on growth response, slurry characteristics, and gas emissions of growing pigs

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of reduced dietary crude protein (CP) levels supplemented with or without exogenous phytase on growing pigs. Six dietary treatments arranged in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangements of 3 CP levels (containing 14%, 16%, and 18% CP) supplemented each with or without 5,000 FTU/g phytase enzyme. Thirty growing pigs (average weight of 17.80 ± 0.10 kg) were allotted to the six dietary treatments in a complete randomized design. The final weight, daily weight gain, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) increased significantly with increasing CP levels. While, phytase supplementation improved (p = .044) FCR in pigs. Total solid and volatile solid content of the slurry were higher (p = .001) in pigs fed 14% and 16% CP diets supplemented with phytase when compared with other treatment groups. Concentration of methane gas emitted was lowest (p = .001) in the slurry of pigs fed 14% CP diet with or without phytase and those fed 16% CP diet with phytase supplementation. In conclusion, reduction in dietary CP levels resulted in reduced weight gain and poor FCR. While, reduced CP with phytase supplementation reduced concentration of methane gas emitted.

Life cycle environmental impacts of food away from home and mitigation strategies-a review

Food production and consumption are major drivers of global environmental change, endangering the safe operating space of many environmental areas. Globally, there has been a growing trend of dining out, termed food away from home (FAFH) here, but its environmental sustainability has received insufficient attention. In this review, we examine studies quantifying the life-cycle environmental impacts of FAFH and identify mitigation strategies across the food supply chain. Overall, previous life cycle assessment (LCA) studies focused on the composition of FAFH meals and pre-use life cycle stages, especially food production. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of FAFH meals range from 0.134 kg CO₂ e/meal to 13.2 kg CO₂ e/meal for school canteen meals, and from 0.60 kg CO₂ e/meal to 9.6 kg CO₂ e/meal for other catering services. Meat ingredients are the dominant source in a variety of environmental impact categories, and the food production stage usually accounts for over half of the total GHG emissions in the FAFH life cycle. Supply side mitigation strategies include advancing farming practices, updating cold transportation technology, and improving building energy efficiency. Demand side mitigation focuses on dietary change towards meals with less meat ingredients, with nudging and sustainable menu-designing as the two primary groups of strategies. Areas of focus for LCA include improving modeling of building energy consumption related to food consumption, advancing uncertainty characterization of life cycle results, and capturing geographical variations in food production.

Variation of antibiotic resistome during commercial livestock manure composting

Composting has been widely used to turn livestock manure into organic fertilizer. However, livestock manure contains various contaminants including antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Here we investigated the variation of antibiotic resistome and its influencing factors during a commercial livestock manure composting. The results showed that composting could effectively reduce the relative abundance of ARGs and mobile genic elements (MGEs). As the dominant phylum in the composting samples, the key potential bacterial host of ARGs were Actinobacteria such as Leucobacter, Mycobacterium and Thermomonosporaceae unclassified. Meanwhile, Legionella pneumophila, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Haemophilus ducreyi and Siccibacter turicensis may be the key potential pathogenic host of ARGs because of their co-occurrence with ARG subtypes. Redundancy analysis showed that the dissipation of ARGs during composting was linked to various environmental factors such as moisture. Bacterial succession as well as profile of biocide and metal resistance genes (BMRGs) were the determinants which constructed the antibiotic resistome during manure composting. However, the residues of ARGs and pathogens in compost products may still pose risks to human and crops after fertilization.

Role of Nutrient-Enriched Biochar as a Soil Amendment during Maize Growth: Exploring Practical Alternatives to Recycle Agricultural Residuals and to Reduce Chemical Fertilizer Demand

Recycling and value-added utilization of agricultural residues through combining technologies such as anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis could double the recoverable energy, close the nutrient recycle loop, and ensure cleaner agricultural production. This study assessed the beneficial application of biochar to soil to recycle digestate nutrients, improve soil quality, and reduce conventional chemical fertilizer. The addition of digestate-enriched biochar improved soil quality as it provided higher soil organic matter (232%–514%) and macronutrients (110%–230%) as opposed to the unenriched biochar and control treatments. Maize grown in soil amended with digestate-enriched biochar showed a significantly higher biomass yield compared to the control and non-enriched biochar treatments but was slightly lower than yields from chemical fertilizer treatments. The slightly lower yield (20%–25%) achieved from digestate-enriched biochar was attributed to slower mineralization and release of the adsorbed nutrients in the short term. However, digestate-enriched biochar could in the long term become more beneficial in sustaining soil fertility through maintaining high soil organic matter and the gradual release of micronutrients compared to conventional chemical fertilizer. Positive effects on soil micronutrients, macronutrients, organic matter, and biomass yield indicates that enriched biochar could partly replace chemical fertilizers and promote organic farming in a circular economy concept.

Review: Environmental impact of livestock farming and Precision Livestock Farming as a mitigation strategy

This paper reviews the environmental impact of current livestock practices and discusses the advantages offered by Precision Livestock Farming (PLF), as a potential strategy to mitigate environmental risks. PLF is defined as: "the application of process engineering principles and techniques to livestock farming to automatically monitor, model and manage animal production". The primary goal of PLF is to make livestock farming more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable and this can be obtained through the observation, interpretation of behaviours and, if possible, individual control of animals. Furthermore, adopting PLF to support management strategies, may lead to the reduction of the environmental impact of farms. Currently, few studies reported PLF efficacy in reducing the environmental impact, however further studies are necessary to better analyze the actual potential of PLF as a mitigation strategy. Literature shows the potentiality of the application of PLF, as the introduction of PLF in farms can lead to a reduction of Greenhouse gases (GHG) and ammonia (NH3) emission in air, nitrates and antibiotics pollution in water bodies, phosphorus, antibiotics and heavy metals in the soil.

Effects of different composting strategies on methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide emissions and nutrient loss during small-scale anaerobic composting

Composting is considered as one of the main sustainable methods for the treatment of livestock manure. In this study we investigated the effects of additives (urea and rice straw) on methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions using a traditional Chinese pig slurry composting method over an 81-day period, as well as examining total organic carbon and total nitrogen loss. Four common treatment strategies were examined in this study: a control (MC), urea nitrogen addition (MN), composting using rice straw cover (MS_cover), and compost mixed with rice straw (MS_mix). Our results indicate that the addition of urea resulted in the lowest total CH₄ emissions and the highest N₂O emissions. MS_cover treatment had the highest and most significant effect on CH₄ emissions, while MS_mix treatment had the lowest CO₂ emissions. Carbon lost through CH₄ and CO₂ released during the experiment was 0.1-0.9 and 2.4-3.9% of total carbon loss, respectively, and nitrogen lost through N₂O release was 11.1-17.9% of total nitrogen. In general, although MS_mix, MS_cover, and MN treatments increased global warming potential by 21.4, 41.6, and 50.9% per kg of pig slurry, respectively, no statistical differences between the four treatments were recorded. By considering carbon and nitrogen conservation, as well as the improvement of the quality of compost and the mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHGs), the small-scale composting method of pig slurry alone is an acceptable environmentally friendly strategy for use in China.

Effects of Oat Bran on Nutrient Digestibility, Intestinal Microbiota, and Inflammatory Responses in the Hindgut of Growing Pigs

Oat bran has drawn great attention within human research for its potential role in improving gut health. However, research regarding the impact of oat bran on nutrient utilization and intestinal functions in pigs is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of oat bran on nutrient digestibility, intestinal microbiota, and inflammatory responses in the hindgut of growing pigs. Twenty-six growing pigs were fed either a basal diet (CON) or a basal diet supplemented with 10% oat bran (OB) within a 28 day feeding trial. Results showed that digestibility of dietary gross energy, dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein were lower in the OB group compared to the CON group on day 14, but no differences were observed between the two groups on day 28. In the colon, the relative abundance of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) associated with Prevotella, Butyricicoccus, and Catenibacterium were higher, while those associated with Coprococcus and Desulfovibrio were lower in the OB group compared to the CON group. Oat bran decreased mRNA expression of caecal interleukin-8 (IL-8), as well as colonic IL-8, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) of the pigs. In summary, oat bran treatment for 28 day did not affect dietary nutrient digestibility, but promoted the growth of cellulolytic bacteria and ameliorated inflammatory reactions in the hindgut of growing pigs.

Environmental Sustainability Analysis and Nutritional Strategies of Animal Production in China

Animal production in China has achieved considerable progress and contributes to 46% of the total agriculture output value of the country. However, this fast expansion of animal production has led to environmental pollution. In this article, we review the status of soil, water, and air pollution associated with animal production in China and analyze the main sources of the pollutants. The government has promulgated regulations and standards, and effective models and technologies have been developed to control pollution during the last 10 years. Because nutrition and feed strategies represent the most effective method of controlling environmental pollution at the source, this review focuses on nutritional technologies, including accurate feed formulation, rational use of additives, and proper processing of feeds. The advances of modern biotechnology and big data systems also provide more modern approaches to decreasing wastage release. These nutritional strategies are expected to promote sustainable development of animal production.