Reducing the environmental impact of global diets

Silvopastoral management for lowering trade-offs between beef production and carbon storage in tropical dry woodlands

Tropical dry woodlands and savannas harbour high levels of biodiversity and carbon, but are also important regions for agricultural production. This generates trade-offs between agriculture and the environment, as agricultural expansion and intensification typically involve the removal of natural woody vegetation. Cattle ranching is an expanding land use in many of these regions, but how different forms of ranching mediate the production/environment trade-off remains weakly understood. Here, we focus on the Argentine Chaco, to evaluate trade-offs between beef production and carbon storage in grazing systems with different levels of woody cover (n = 27). We measured beef productivity and carbon storage during 2018/19 and used a regression framework to quantify the trade-off between both, and to analyze which agroclimatic and management variables explain the observed trade-off. Our main finding was that silvopastures had the lowest trade-off between beef production and carbon storage, as management in these systems seeks to increase herbaceous forage by removing shrubs, while maintaining most of the bigger trees that contain most above-ground carbon. The most important variable explaining the beef production/carbon storage trade-off was pasture management, specifically the number of shrub encroachment control interventions, with a lower trade-off for higher numbers of interventions. Unfortunately, more interventions can also result in woody cover degradation over time, and shrub encroachment management must therefore be improved to become sustainable. Overall, our study highlights the strong environmental trade-offs associated with beef production in dry woodlands and savanna, but also the key role of good management practices in lowering this trade-off. Specifically, silvopastoral systems can increase beef production as much as converting woodlands to tree-less pastures, but silvopastures retain much more carbon in aboveground vegetation. Silvopastoral systems thus represent a promising land-use option to lower production/environment trade-offs in the Dry Chaco and likely many other tropical dry woodlands and savannas.

Carbon opportunity cost increases carbon footprint advantage of grain-finished beef

Beef production accounts for the largest share of global livestock greenhouse gas emissions and is an important target for climate mitigation efforts. Most life-cycle assessments comparing the carbon footprint of beef production systems have been limited to production emissions. None also consider potential carbon sequestration due to grazing and alternate uses of land used for production. We assess the carbon footprint of 100 beef production systems in 16 countries, including production emissions, soil carbon sequestration from grazing, and carbon opportunity cost-the potential carbon sequestration that could occur on land if it were not used for production. We conduct a pairwise comparison of pasture-finished operations in which cattle almost exclusively consume grasses and forage, and grain-finished operations in which cattle are first grazed and then fed a grain-based diet. We find that pasture-finished operations have 20% higher production emissions and 42% higher carbon footprint than grain-finished systems. We also find that more land-intensive operations generally have higher carbon footprints. Regression analysis indicates that a 10% increase in land-use intensity is associated with a 4.8% increase in production emissions, but a 9.0% increase in carbon footprint, including production emissions, soil carbon sequestration and carbon opportunity cost. The carbon opportunity cost of operations was, on average, 130% larger than production emissions. These results point to the importance of accounting for carbon opportunity cost in assessing the sustainability of beef production systems and developing climate mitigation strategies.

Beef Steers and Enteric Methane: Reducing Emissions by Managing Forage Diet Fiber Content

Understanding the methane (CH4) emissions that are produced by enteric fermentation is one of the main problems to be solved for livestock, due to their GHG effects. These emissions are affected by the quantity and quality of their diets, thus, it is key to accurately define the intake and fiber content (NDF) of these forage diets. On the other hand, different emission prediction equations have been developed; however, there are scarce and uncertain results regarding their evaluation of the emissions that have been observed in forage diets. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of the NDF content of a forage diet on CH4 enteric emissions, and to evaluate the ability of models to predict the emissions from the animals that are consuming these forage diets. In total, thirty-six Angus steers (x¯ = 437 kg live weight) aged 18 months, blocked by live weight and placed in three automated feeding pens, were used to measure the enteric CH4. The animals were randomly assigned to two forage diets (n = 18), with moderate (<50%, MF) and high (>50%, HF) NDF contents. Their dry matter intake was recorded individually, and the CH4 emissions were measured using the SF6 tracer gas technique. For the model evaluation, six prediction equations were compared with 29 studies (n = 97 observations), analyzing the accuracy and precision of their estimates. The emission intensities per unit of DMI, per ADG, and per gross energy intake were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the animals consuming the MF diet than in the animals consuming the HF diet (21.7 vs. 23.7 g CH4/kg DMI, 342 vs. 660 g CH4/kg ADG, and 6.7% vs. 7.5%, respectively), but there were no differences in the absolute emissions (p > 0.05). The best performing model was the IPCC 2006 model (r2 = 0.7, RMSE = 74.04). These results show that reducing the NDF content of a forage diet by at least 10% (52 g/kg DM) reduces the intensity of the g CH4/kg DMI by up to 8%, and that of the g CH4/kg ADG by almost half. The use of the IPCC 2006 model is suitable for estimating the CH4 emissions from animals consuming forage-based diets.

Beyond pastures, look at plastic: Using Sentinel-2 imagery to map silage bags to improve understanding of cattle intensity

Cattle ranching has increased globally in the last decades, and although pasture expansion is well documented across different regions, there is little understanding of the intensity at which cattle operate in these areas. With freely available Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, we mapped for the first time polyethylene silage bags used for forage conservation in a year with the Random Forest algorithm, and proposed them as a spatial indicator of cattle intensity. For this, we combined monthly silage area with land cover and climatic variables in a regression framework to understand cattle intensity metrics at regional and farm scales throughout 20 million hectares in the Dry Chaco. In addition, we explored the impact of using maize silage supplementation on productive and environmental metrics at the farm scale in a precipitation gradient. We validated our models using a spatially explicit database of cattle distribution. Our results highlight that silage bags are accurate mappable objects with Sentinel-2, which can contribute to the understanding of cattle density, and heifer and steer density in pasture contexts at farm and regional scales. Finally, our whole-farm simulations support the idea that incorporating silage supplementation in cattle ranching regional analyses conducts to significant differences on environmental or productive estimations, which should be considered. The amount of stored forage that is used in supplementation has strong implications for the performance of cattle ranching, but remains difficult to quantify at the regional level with remote sensing. Silage bag mapping is thus an opportunity to improve the overall understanding of livestock intensification and its productive and environmental impacts, particularly in highly seasonal rangelands. Following this metric could be a valuable indicator of the cattle ranching performance in terms of it resilience, production increase and impacts over natural ecosystems (related to Sustainable Development Goal 2-zero hunger and also in the 15-life on land).

Connecting Climate Change Mitigation to Global Land Regeneration, Doubling Worldwide Livestock, and Reduction of Early Deaths from Noncommunicable Diseases

Aim and background This article aims to link early deaths due to diet-related noncommunicable diseases at the global level, low animal food intake, primarily in developing countries, regenerative/organic agriculture, worldwide food security, and global warming mitigation. On statistically modeling Global Burden of Disease (GBD) risk factor and health outcome data, the unexpected finding was that early deaths (death before age 70) per year per 100k population due to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs, such as coronary artery disease, emphysema, liver failure, kidney failure, and cancers) were much higher in cohorts with low consumption of animal-sourced foods (processed meat, red meat, dairy, fish, poultry, eggs, and saturated fats). Relatively low NCD rates are associated with high animal food consumption. This unexpected finding led to exploring the implications of climate change. Methods I critiqued the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC's) definitions of "sustainability in land management, sustainable intensification (of agriculture), climate-smart agriculture," and "sustainability-focused socioeconomic pathway 1 (SSP1)"-the most climate-favorable scenario that the IPCC modeled. I modeled doubling the global livestock together with global regenerative/organic agriculture compared with the IPCC's SSP1, using the IPCC's mean 2010-2019 global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) as the baseline for comparison. Results This study found that all the IPCC's agricultural land-related definitions of interest were aspirational without detailing the farming methods used and those not allowed. The IPCC's land management-related definitions differed from the same or similar terms in the literature. The status quo net global agriculture and other land use GHGs (2010-2019) totaled 11.9 ± 4.4 gigatonnes (GT) carbon dioxide equivalent per year (11.9 ± 4.4 GTCO₂-eq yr^-1). The IPCC's modeling of the SSP1 scenario reduced GHGs to 3 GTCO₂-eq yr^-1 by 2050. Transitioning to global regenerative/organic agriculture (5 billion hectares) and doubling the global livestock for human consumption and agricultural land fertilization corresponded to net global GHGs = -24.1 GTCO₂-eq yr^-1 for 2-3 decades, totaling -482 to -723 GTCO₂-eq of CO₂ sequestration. Conclusions Doubling global livestock combined with worldwide regenerative/organic agriculture has the potential to mitigate climate change significantly more than SSP1 while providing global food security by reversing land degradation. Worldwide transitioning from intensive industrial agriculture that degrades land to regenerative/organic agriculture that sequesters CO₂ in soil ​​​​​and doubling global livestock would require initial support with finances, resources, and additional workers for farms in both developing and developed countries. Subsequently, farms and farmers would be sustainably self-supporting with food sales. Retaining the existing farm workers and attracting hundreds of millions more workers would likely require transitioning most agricultural lands into worker-owned cooperatives.

A taste of things to come: Effect of temporal order of information and product experience on evaluation of healthy and sustainable plant-based products

Current patterns of meat consumption are considered unsustainable. Plant-based products are presented as a solution. However, while some plant-based products thrive, others do not make the cut due to the information “framing” effect issues related to the way information is presented to the consumers. Information on the nutrition and health properties of food products are usually made available at the point of purchase, but their effect on consumer product evaluation and subsequent purchase intent can also occur later, during or after consumption. This research demonstrates that the effect of nutrition information on product evaluation and purchase intention depends on when such information is made available–before first tasting or after first tasting–and that the information interacts with the taste experience in its effect on product evaluation and subsequent purchase intent. Using three plant-based products as an example, we conducted a cross-cultural experimental sensory evaluation with temporal order of information as the main between-subject experimental condition (informed before taste vs. informed after taste vs. control condition), and product experience phase (expectation vs. experience vs. post-experience phase) and information content as within-subject conditions. Information content had two levels: lower vs. higher share of oat protein in the product (i.e., source of protein vs. high in protein). The results indicate that information generally increases consumers’ purchase intentions with information before tasting having a higher weight when compared to the condition when information was presented after tasting. Presenting the information before tasting also mitigates a drop in the evaluation of taste after tasting, observed in the two other conditions. Further, taste acts as a healthiness cue, but the direction of the inference depends on the availability of health-related information: tasting in the informed condition increased the healthiness perception, whereas tasting in the uninformed condition had the opposite effect. Giving the information before the first tasting also increased the weight of healthiness as compared to taste in the formation of purchase intentions. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the effect of temporal order of information and product tasting have on the consumers’ product evaluations of plant-based products from theoretical and managerial perspectives.

Voisin Rational Grazing as a Sustainable Alternative for Livestock Production

Current livestock practices do not meet current real-world social and environmental requirements, pushing farmers away from rural areas and only sustaining high productivity through the overuse of fossil fuels, causing numerous environmental side effects. In this narrative review, we explore how the Voisin Rational Grazing (VRG) system responds to this problem. VRG is an agroecological system based on four principles that maximise pasture growth and ruminant intake, while, at the same time, maintaining system sustainability. It applies a wide range of regenerative agricultural practices, such as the use of multispecies swards combined with agroforestry. Planning allows grazing to take place when pastures reach their optimal resting period, thus promoting vigorous pasture regrowth. Moreover, paddocks are designed in a way that allow animals to have free access to water and shade, improving overall animal welfare. In combination, these practices result in increased soil C uptake and soil health, boost water retention, and protect water quality. VRG may be used to provide ecosystem services that mitigate some of the current global challenges and create opportunities for farmers to apply greener practices and become more resilient. It can be said that VRG practitioners are part of the initiatives that are rethinking modern livestock agriculture. Its main challenges, however, arise from social constraints. More specifically, local incentives and initiatives that encourage farmers to take an interest in the ecological processes involved in livestock farming are still lacking. Little research has been conducted to validate the empirical evidence of VRG benefits on animal performance or to overcome VRG limitations.

Predictors of intention to reduce meat consumption due to environmental reasons - Results from Poland and Slovakia

The current study examines the determinants of the intention to reduce meat consumption for pro-environmental reasons. The research model includes variables from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Norm Activation Model (NAM). The research was conducted in Poland and Slovakia, which are similar in terms of economic, social, and cultural conditions, located next to each other in the same climate zone, but differ greatly in terms of meat consumption and the direction of its change. Whereas in Poland, the meat consumption trend is rising, it is declining in Slovakia. The results of this study revealed that only attitude toward the impact of meat consumption reduction on the environment and personal norms related positively to intention to reduce meat consumption due to environmental reasons in both countries. However, in the country with decreasing meat consumption (Slovakia), the influence of attitude on intention was much stronger than in the country with increasing meat consumption (Poland). This study is the first to examine which predictors of intention to reduce meat consumption due to environmental reasons are simultaneous in two countries that have significantly different meat consumption levels and directions of change.

Drivers of Protein Consumption: A Cross-Country Analysis

Consumption and production of proteins derived from animals have more significant environmental and health impacts than proteins derived from plants. This raises concerns mainly in consideration of the predictable increased consumption of animal proteins at the expense of vegetal ones due to growing income, especially in developing countries. Animal protein consumption, and particularly meat consumption, seems to start to decrease at a high level of income, which may suggest that economic growth solves or attenuates the environmental and health problems of animal food consumption. To test this possibility, the relationship between per capita income and animal and vegetal protein consumption is explored. Using a cross-country regression for 142 countries in 2017, animal-based protein, meat protein, and vegetal-based protein consumption are specified as dependent variables. In addition to per capita income, other potential drivers of protein choices, including ecological, demographic and social factors are controlled for. Apart from income, which still seems to be the most important driver of any type of protein consumption, the results suggest that protein consumption from animal sources and meat sources have different determinants. Though there is actually some evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between per capita income and animal protein consumption, the peak is at such high levels as to make economic growth irrelevant to curb animal protein consumption.

Changing Dietary Behavior for Better Biodiversity Preservation: A Preliminary Study

Broadly consumed dietary patterns, such as the European and Western ones, are exerting pressures on biodiversity both in Europe and globally, and shifting toward a sustainable dietary pattern has thus become a must. This paper constitutes a preliminary communication of the results of a research project on the issue. In this study, the pressures of three dietary patterns (European, Western, and Mediterranean) on biodiversity are addressed in terms of land use, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and eutrophication impact indicators. The environmental impacts are calculated based on a compositional analysis of each dietary pattern and the environmental footprints of the corresponding food groups. Food balance sheets published by the FAO are used as a basis for the compositional analysis, while the environmental footprints of each of the representative food products are retrieved from related life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. The results show that a shift from the European to the Mediterranean dietary pattern would lead to 10 m²/capita/day land savings, 240 L/capita/day water savings, 3 kg CO₂/capita/day reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and 20 gPO₄eq/capita/day reductions in eutrophication potential. Likewise, a shift from the Western to the Mediterranean dietary pattern would lead to 18 m²/capita/day land savings, 100 L/capita/day water savings, 4 kg CO₂/capita/day reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and 16 gPO₄eq/capita/day reduction in eutrophication potential. Based on these findings, it is clear that this shift is urgently needed as a step toward environmentally sustainable dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean one, to preserve biodiversity for future generations.

Reducing climate impacts of beef production: A synthesis of life cycle assessments across management systems and global regions

The global demand for beef is rapidly increasing (FAO, 2019), raising concern about climate change impacts (Clark et al., 2020; Leip et al., 2015; Springmann et al., 2018). Beef and dairy contribute over 70% of livestock greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), which collectively contribute ~6.3 Gt CO₂ -eq/year (Gerber et al., 2013; Herrero et al., 2016) and account for 14%-18% of human GHG emissions (Friedlingstein et al., 2019; Gerber et al., 2013). The utility of beef GHG mitigation strategies, such as land-based carbon (C) sequestration and increased production efficiency, are actively debated (Garnett et al., 2017). We compiled 292 local comparisons of "improved" versus "conventional" beef production systems across global regions, assessing net GHG emission data from Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies. Our results indicate that net beef GHG emissions could be reduced substantially via changes in management. Overall, a 46 % reduction in net GHG emissions per unit of beef was achieved at sites using carbon (C) sequestration management strategies on grazed lands, and an 8% reduction in net GHGs was achieved at sites using growth efficiency strategies. However, net-zero emissions were only achieved in 2% of studies. Among regions, studies from Brazil had the greatest improvement, with management strategies for C sequestration and efficiency reducing beef GHG emissions by 57%. In the United States, C sequestration strategies reduced beef GHG emissions by over 100% (net-zero emissions) in a few grazing systems, whereas efficiency strategies were not successful at reducing GHGs, possibly because of high baseline efficiency in the region. This meta-analysis offers insight into pathways to substantially reduce beef production's global GHG emissions. Nonetheless, even if these improved land-based and efficiency management strategies could be fully applied globally, the trajectory of growth in beef demand will likely more than offset GHG emissions reductions and lead to further warming unless there is also reduced beef consumption.

We Are the Earth and the Earth Is Us: How Palates Link Foodscapes, Landscapes, Heartscapes, and Thoughtscapes

Humans are participating in the sixth mass extinction, and for the first time in 200,000 years, our species may be on the brink of extinction. We are facing the greatest challenges we have ever encountered, namely how to nourish eight billion people in the face of changing climates ecologically, diminish disparity between the haves and the have-nots economically, and ease xenophobia, fear, and hatred socially? Historically, our tribal nature served us well, but the costs of tribalism are now far too great for one people inhabiting one tiny orb. If we hope to survive, we must mend the divides that isolate us from one another and the communities we inhabit. While not doing so could be our undoing, doing so could transform our collective consciousness into one that respects, nourishes, and embraces our interdependence with life on Earth. At a basic level, we can cultivate life by using nature as a model for how to produce and consume food; by decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels for energy to grow, process, and transport food; and by transcending persistent battles over one-size-fits-all plant- or animal-based diets. If we learn to do so in ways that nourish life, we may awaken individually and collectively to the wisdom of the Maori proverb Ko au te whenua. Ko te whenua Ko au: I am the land. The land is me. In this paper, we use “scapes” —foodscapes, landscapes, heartscapes, and thoughtscapes—as unifying themes to discuss our linkages with communities. We begin by considering how palates link animals with foodscapes. Next, we address how palates link foodscapes with landscapes. We then consider how, through our reverence for life, heartscapes link palates with foodscapes and landscapes. We conclude with transformations of thoughtscapes needed to appreciate life on Earth as a community to which we belong, rather than as a commodity that belongs to us.

Circular Food Behaviors: A Literature Review

Consumer behavior is crucial in the transition towards circular food systems. Studies so far investigate isolated circular food behaviors, but it is still unclear how the literature comprehensively addresses these behaviors. This paper provides an overview of the literature on circular food behaviors. Following a semi-systematic literature review, we analyze 46 papers related to circular food behaviors. We summarize their main features, categorize the behaviors, and propose a future research agenda. Results show the novelty and quick popularity of the topic, a dispersion across sustainability and agri-food journals, the manuscripts’ goals related to consumption, a predominance of empirical data collection in Europe, a focus on behaviors related to protein alternatives, food waste, and upcycled foods, and the importance of communication and consumers’ education. We categorize and characterize three types of circular food behaviors: linear, transitioning, and circular behaviors. Circular behaviors (i) are part of a systemic circular economy view, (ii) define consumers as “doers” or “prosumers”, (iii) pursue long-term sustainability goals, (iv) show a high engagement of skilled consumers, and (v) are supported by technologies. Future research should consider the social dimension of sustainability and pursue a systemic view of circular food behaviors. We suggest that a circular food-related lifestyle may incorporate the recommended directions.

How dietary transition changed land use in Mexico

The nutrition transition towards western diets in developing countries occurs at multiple levels, impacting health and society and also the environment. In Mexico, the shift in food consumption and production patterns, particularly in relation to animal source foods (ASF), has changed land use. We studied the consumption and production of ASF and change in agricultural land use in Mexico during the second half of the twentieth century and until 2013; using domestic and international data sources, our findings show an increasing proportion of farmed area devoted to the production of feed crops domestically, and also an increasing demand of farmed feed beyond national borders. We discuss how the intensification of livestock production is associated to major environmental threats and suggest that opportunities are available for sustainable and healthy food options.

Improve Pasture or Feed Grain? Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Profitability, and Resource Use for Nelore Beef Cattle in Brazil's Cerrado and Amazon Biomes

Simple Summary

Deforested areas in Brazil’s Amazon and Cerrado savannah have historically transitioned to pasture for grazing tropical beef cattle. Brazil’s projected growth in beef exports emphasizes the importance of sustainably intensifying Brazil’s cattle industry on existing agricultural land without increasing deforestation nor accelerating land conversion. We adapted a widely used simulation model for cattle, pasture, and crops to closely match two cooperating beef farms, one in the Cerrado and one in the Amazon. We then simulated the adoption of pasture fertilization, pasture re-seeding, and pasture-based grain supplementation of cattle by a model beef farm. These three sustainable agricultural intensification strategies were compared to extensive cattle grazing, the status quo in Brazil. Beef productivity and economic returns were greater for grain supplementation, followed by pasture fertilization and pasture re-seeding. Grain supplementation had the lowest greenhouse gas emissions, with less energy and nitrogen use compared to extensive grazing, as measured as a “footprint” for every unit of beef body weight produced. Pasture re-seeding and fertilization had lower greenhouse gas footprints compared to extensive; however, water and energy use and nitrogen losses were greater. Grain supplementation used more human edible livestock feed than other strategies, so pasture intensification could increase future human food availability.

Abstract

Economic development, international food and feed demand, and government policies have converted Brazil’s natural ecosystems into agricultural land. The Integrated Farm System Model (IFSM) was evaluated using production, economic, and weather data collected on two cooperating farms in the Legal Amazon and Cerrado biomes in the Midwest state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Three sustainable agricultural intensification strategies, namely grain supplementation, pasture re-seeding, and pasture fertilization were simulated in IFSM with double the beef cattle stocking density compared to extensive grazing. Livestock dry matter consumption simulated in IFSM was similar for pasture grazing estimates and actual feed consumed by beef cattle on the two collaborating farms. Grain supplementation best balanced beef production and profitability with lower carbon footprint compared to extensive grazing, followed by pasture fertilization and pasture re-seeding. However, pasture re-seeding and fertilization had greater use of water and energy and more nitrogen losses. Human edible livestock feed use was greatest for grain supplementation compared to other modeled systems. While grain supplementation appears more favorable economically and environmentally, greater use of human edible livestock feed may compete with future human food needs. Pasture intensification had greater human edible feed conversion efficiency, but its greater natural resource use may be challenging.

Climate change and the need for agricultural adaptation

Agriculture and food security are predicted to be significantly impacted by climate change, though the impact will vary by region and by crop. Combined with the increasing global population, there is an urgent need for agriculture to adapt to ensure future food security for this growing population. Adaptation strategies include changing land and cropping practices, the development of improved crop varieties and changing food consumption and waste. Recent advances in genomics and agronomy can help alleviate some of the impacts of climate change on food production; however, given the timeframe for crop improvement, significant investment is required to realise these changes. Ultimately, there is a limit as to how far agriculture can adapt to the changing climate, and a political will to reduce the impact of burning of fossil fuels on the global climate is essential for long term food security.

Impact of Industry 4.0 on Environmental Sustainability

Industry 4.0 is a concept that originated from the German industry, and whose essence is the use of technology for efficient production. In business today, the emergence of Industry 4.0 for production, and its related technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and cyber-physical systems, amongst others, have, however, a negative impact on environmental sustainability as a result of air pollution, the poor discharge of waste, and the intensive use of raw materials, information, and energy. The method used in this study is an analysis of a literature review of manuscripts discussing topics related to Industry 4.0 and environmental sustainability published between 2000 and 2020. There is currently a gap existing between the actual and the desired situation, in that production occurs in a weak sustainability model, and, therefore, this research debates the effects on environmental sustainability and the challenges facing Industry 4.0. Four scenarios are discussed: a deployment scenario, an operation scenario, integration and compliance with sustainable development goals, and a long-run scenario. The results indicate that there is a negative relationship related to the flow of the production process from the inputs to the final product, including raw materials, energy requirements, information, and waste disposal, and their impacts on the environment. However, the integration of Industry 4.0 and the sustainable development goals enhance environmental sustainability to create ecological support that guarantees high environmental performance with a more positive impact than before. This paper will help stakeholders and companies to provide solutions to the existing environmental challenges that can be mediated through adopting new technologies. The novelty of this study is its depiction of Industry 4.0 and its technologies integrated with sustainable development goals to create a sustainable Industry 4.0 combining environmental protection and sustainability.

Edible mushrooms as a novel protein source for functional foods

Fast demographic growth has led to increasing interest in low-cost alternative protein sources to meet population needs.

Could the breed composition improve performance and change the enteric methane emissions from beef cattle in a tropical intensive production system?

Crossbreeding has been used to improve performance in beef cattle, however the effects of breed composition on methane (CH₄) production, yield and intensity from cattle raised in tropical intensive and integrated systems remain unknown. To assess the impact of breed composition on performance and methane emissions, Nellore (NEL; yr 1: BW = 171.5 ± 19.4 kg; n = 10; yr 2: BW = 215.8 ± 32.3 kg, n = 25) and Angus x Nellore crossbred (AN; yr 1: BW = 214.2 ± 26.4 kg, n = 10; yr 2: BW = 242.5 ± 32.2 kg, n = 25) were compared. The animals grazed on integrated crop-livestock system in the growing phase (stocking rate 2452 kg BW/ha, herbage mass 4,884 kg dry matter (DM)/ha, forage allowance 5.9 kg DM/100kg BW) and then were finished in a feedlot. Steers (n = 8) from each breed composition were randomly selected in each phase to measure CH₄ production using a sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) tracer technique and DM intake (DMI) using titanium dioxide. Compared with NEL, AN had both superior total gain and average daily gain (ADG) in the grazing period. The AN presented greater ADG in the feedlot with a shorter finishing period and resulted in greater carcass yield and carcass ADG. Methane production (kg/period) was lower in NEL (19% less) than AN in grazing (P<0.01), and no difference was observed in feedlot. The NEL had less CH₄ intensity (CH₄/BW) in grazing but greater CH₄ per unit of ADG in the feedlot compared to AN. Breed composition did not influence the CH₄ yield (CH₄/DMI) in either phase, despite the difference in feedlot DMI (kg/day). In conclusion, crossbreeding may be an option to improve performance and reduce the CH₄ per ADG in tropical climate conditions, resulting in lower methane emission per kg of meat produced.

Simulating the influence of integrated crop-livestock systems on water yield at watershed scale

Integrated crop-livestock (ICL) systems are being promoted as environmentally favorable alternatives to traditional crop agriculture and livestock production. There are few, if any, evaluation studies of the hydrologic response of watersheds to the implementation of ICL systems. Thus, we applied the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to simulate the potential impacts of ICL systems on water yield and its hydrological components using a large agricultural dominated watershed. In this study, the integration of grazing operations with cropping systems represented cattle grazing under three typical crop rotations: (i) continuous corn (Zea mays L.; 1-year rotation), (ii) conventional (corn-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]; 2-year rotation), and (iii) winter cover crops (corn-soybean-oats (Avena sativa L.)/winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.); 3-year rotation). Modeling results showed a significant reduction in water yield over a long-term period simulation (31 years) when grazing of corn residue or winter barley was scheduled within the rotations. When compared to scenarios without grazing operations, the reduction in water yield was 14.7% under corn-soybean rotation (corn as the forage grazed), 12.5% under continuous corn rotation, 6.4% under corn-soybean-oats/winter barley rotation (corn as the forage grazed), and 3% under corn-soybean-oats/winter barley rotation (winter barley as the forage grazed). Of the three components that constitute water yield (i.e., surface runoff, lateral and groundwater flow), only surface runoff was reduced when integrating grazing into the cropping system. Instead, lateral and groundwater flows increased when ICL systems were scheduled in the watershed. Groundwater flow was the hydrological component with the highest relative impact on streamflow. These results indicate that ICL systems can positively affect processes involved in soil water storage and transit. Runoff reduction benefits of ICL systems might be helpful in improving the environmental quality of receiving waterbodies and in reducing flood-risk potential. These systems over the long-term could benefit the watershed's hydrological cycle through increased baseflow. Overall, this study suggests new watershed-scale benefits of ICL systems with important hydrological implications that might be of interest for agricultural watershed planners.

Is Grassfed Meat and Dairy Better for Human and Environmental Health?

The health of livestock, humans, and environments is tied to plant diversity-and associated phytochemical richness-across landscapes. Health is enhanced when livestock forage on phytochemically rich landscapes, is reduced when livestock forage on simple mixture or monoculture pastures or consume high-grain rations in feedlots, and is greatly reduced for people who eat highly processed diets. Circumstantial evidence supports the hypothesis that phytochemical richness of herbivore diets enhances biochemical richness of meat and dairy, which is linked with human and environmental health. Among many roles they play in health, phytochemicals in herbivore diets protect meat and dairy from protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation that cause low-grade systemic inflammation implicated in heart disease and cancer in humans. Yet, epidemiological and ecological studies critical of red meat consumption do not discriminate among meats from livestock fed high-grain rations as opposed to livestock foraging on landscapes of increasing phytochemical richness. The global shift away from phytochemically and biochemically rich wholesome foods to highly processed diets enabled 2.1 billion people to become overweight or obese and increased the incidence of type II diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Unimpeded, these trends will add to a projected substantial increase in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) from producing food and clearing land by 2050. While agriculture contributes one quarter of GHGE, livestock can play a sizable role in climate mitigation. Of 80 ways to alleviate climate change, regenerative agriculture-managed grazing, silvopasture, tree intercropping, conservation agriculture, and farmland restoration-jointly rank number one as ways to sequester GHG. Mitigating the impacts of people in the Anthropocene can be enabled through diet to improve human and environmental health, but that will require profound changes in society. People will have to learn we are members of nature's communities. What we do to them, we do to ourselves. Only by nurturing them can we nurture ourselves.

Which factors influence farmers' intentions to adopt nutrient management planning?

The adoption of nutrient management practices can lead to win-win outcomes in terms of both improving productivity and reducing the environmental impact of farming. However, adoption of key practices remains below expectations globally. Few studies specifically focus on the adoption of nutrient management practices and the majority overlook psychological factors in their analysis. This study examines the factors which influence Irish farmers' intention to apply fertiliser on the basis of soil test results. An expanded version of the theory of planned behaviour is used as a framework for analysis. The influence of policy is also accounted for by this study which requires certain farmers in Ireland to adopt soil testing on a mandatory basis. The results for the national sample (n = 1009) show that attitudes, subjective norms (social pressure), perceived behavioural control (ease/difficulty) and perceived resources are significant and positively associated with farmers' intentions. In terms of the voluntary sample (n = 587), only attitude, perceived behavioural control and perceived resources are significantly and positively associated with farmers' intentions. Whereas, for the mandatory sample (n = 422), subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and perceived resources are significantly and correlated in a positive direction with intentions. A number of farm and farmer characteristics are also significantly associated with intentions. Policy recommendations are made based on these results.