Evaluation of the Environmental Impact of Industrial and Traditional Broiler Chicken Production by Using Life Cycle Assessment

Poultry meat with a high share in the food consumption is one of the most basic products for supplying protein to households. Due to the high amount of pollutants in this part, the environmental impact of the production of this product is necessary. In the present study, the environmental impact of broiler chicken production in both industrial and traditional breeding methods were evaluated using Life cycle assessment method in Mazandaran province. The environmental impacts of producing one ton of poultry were evaluated by IMPCAT 2002 methods in the form of 15 midpoint environmental indicators and 4 endpoint environmental indicators. The results of industrial chicken breeding showed that inputs such as fatty acids, food (soybean meal, corn, and wheat) and energy (electricity, diesel and natural gas) have the highest contribution to creating different midpoint environmental indicators. At the same time evaluating environmental indicators of chicken production in the traditional method showed that the highest share in the most environmental indicators related to the use of rice bran. Also the results showed that for the production of a one ton of industrial broiler chicken, the human health indicators 0.0063 (DALY), ecosystem quality 14321.46 (PDF.m2.yr), climate change 9300.45 (kg CO2 eq), and resources 42072.93 (MJ primary) and for the production of one ton of broiler chicken in the traditional way (organic), human health indices 0.0262 (DALY), ecosystem quality 52324.33 (PDF.m2.yr), climate change 35329.45 (kg CO2 eq) and resources 224848.1 (MJ primary). The overall results obtained from weighted environmental indicators showed that the production of broiler chickens by the industrial method due to the short growth period of the chicks, had lower environmental effects than traditional production methods.