Abstract

We systematically mapped the scientific literature on the sustainability of pig production at farm-level. Sustainability was considered holistically, covering its economic, environmental, and social dimensions, each consisting of a broad range of different aspects that may contradict or reinforce each other. Literature published between January 2000 and March 2020 with a geographical focus on Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand was included. A standard template with predefined keywords was used to summarise aspects of each sustainability dimension covered in identified papers. We found that papers analysing environmental sustainability were more frequent than papers analysing economic or social sustainability. However, there are many different aspects within each dimension of sustainability, hampering comparisons between studies. In addition, each dimension of sustainability has many sides, making it difficult to compare different studies, and different dimensions and aspects may have complex interrelations. Our systematic literature review revealed that these interrelations are not well understood and that possible trade-offs or synergies between different aspects of sustainability dimensions remain unidentified. This systematic mapping of the current literature on farm-level sustainability in pig production can support a more informed discussion on knowledge gaps and help prioritise future research at farm-level to enhance sustainability in pig production.

Keywords

pork; swine; environment; social; economic; animal welfare; ecology

Published in

Sustainability
2020, Volume: 12, number: 11, article number: 4352
Publisher: MDPI

SLU Authors

• Arvidsson Segerkvist, Katarina

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Wallgren, Torun

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Hansson, Helena

  • Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Gunnarsson, Stefan

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

SLUsystematic


Sustainable Development Goals

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns


UKÄ Subject classification

Animal and Dairy Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114352

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/106910