Environmental impact of the substitution of imported soybean meal with locally-produced rapeseed meal in dairy cow feed

Simon Lehuger (1) , Benoit Gabrielle (1) , Nathalie Gagnaire (1)

1 EGC - Environnement et Grandes Cultures

Growing public concerns about the traceability, safety and environmental-friendliness of food products provide an incentive for shorter supply chains in agricultural production. Here, we assessed the environmental impacts of the substitution of imported soybean meal with locally-produced rapeseed meal in French dairy production systems, using a life-cycle approach. Two feeding rations based on either French-produced rapeseed meal or Brazilian-produced soy meal as concentrates, were compared for nine impact categories, including global warming, ecotoxicity and eutrophication. Crop production was the main contributor to most impacts, while overseas transport of soy meal only had a marginal effect. The "Soybean" ration appeared more environmentally efficient than the "Rapeseed" ration because it involved less intensive management practices, in particular regarding synthetic fertilizers consumption. However, land-use changes brought about by soybean cultivation should also be examined.

Mots clés: Life cycle assessment; Soybean; Rapeseed; Concentrated feed; Dairy cow ration; Milk production; Direct field emissions; Environmental impact; Substitution

Domaines: Interfaces continentales, environnement; Milieux et Changements globaux

Simon Lehuger, Benoit Gabrielle, Nathalie Gagnaire. Environmental impact of the substitution of imported soybean meal with locally-produced rapeseed meal in dairy cow feed. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2009, 17 (6), pp.616-624. ⟨10.1016/j.jclepro.2008.10.005⟩. ⟨hal-00087583v2⟩