Sustainable Pig Production

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable pig production is characterized by economic profitability through the improvement of productive output, while maintaining good animal health and welfare, and without compromising environmental resources. Increased levels of meat production are required in order to feed the projected world population of 9 billion people by the year 2050 while producers experience a greater competition of land, water, and energy. As a consequence, international efforts are currently being undertaken to improve the accuracy of feed recording, implement precision feeding techniques, and increase feed efficiency (FE) by genetic selection. However, reducing feed resource inputs per unit of product outputs may potentially negatively affect the metabolic balance and compromise overall animal robustness and welfare.

The sustainability of pig production does not end at the animal or farm production scale. Sustainable agriculture also includes the safeguarding and sustainable use of environmental resources. When intensification of production translates to increasing external inputs or detrimental outputs, this may be regarded as unsustainable in view of risks for the environment. Alternatively, the sustainability of production can be enhanced by improving the efficiency of pigs in transforming local feeds and feedstuff co-products into meat. However, since the quantity and quality of feed resources limits productive output, this may require a different type of pig than those currently selected in intensive high-quality input–high output production systems.

This issue calls for reviews and original research articles related to the development of sustainable, socially acceptable, and economically viable pig production systems, including work related to animal robustness and welfare, resource utilization, emissions and wastes, management approaches and tools, the use of alternative pig breeds, the use of alternative feed resources, the environmental and social impact of pig production, interests of stakeholders, and consumer behavior and public acceptance of the pig production sector.

Dr. Wendy Rauw
Dr. Sabine Dippel
Dr. Barbara Sturm
Guest Editors

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