Optimising Nutrition for Sustainable Pig Production: Strategies to Quantify and Mitigate Environmental Impact

The intensifying global demand for food presents significant challenges for sustainable pig production, particularly in the context of escalating input costs, environmental degradation, and resource scarcity. Life cycle assessment provides a comprehensive framework for quantifying environmental impacts and identifying production hotspots within pig production systems. Feed production and manure management are consistently identified as major contributors, emphasising the need for targeted interventions. Although soybean meal remains a key protein source, its association with deforestation and biodiversity loss is driving an interest in more sustainable alternatives. In temperate climates, faba beans offer a promising, locally sourced option, though their wider adoption is limited by amino acid imbalances and anti-nutritional factors. Grain preservation is another critical consideration, as post-harvest losses and fungal contamination compromise feed quality and animal health. Organic acid preservation has emerged as an energy-efficient, cost-effective alternative to industrial drying, improving storage stability and reducing fossil fuel dependence. Additional nutritional strategies, including dietary crude protein reduction, carbohydrate source modification, feed additive inclusion, and maternal nutritional interventions, can enhance nutrient utilisation, intestinal health, and herd resilience while mitigating environmental impact. This review explores practical feed-based strategies to support sustainable, resilient, and resource-efficient pig production and contribute to global food security.