Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 6
A GREENHOUSE GAS AND SOIL
CARBON MODEL FOR ESTIMATING
THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF
LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN
CANADA
XAVIER P.C. VERG
É
, JAMES A. DYER, DEVON E. WORTH,
WARD N. SMITH, RAYMOND L. DESJARDINS,
AND
BRIAN G. MCCONKEY
6.1 INTRODUCTION
The growing global demand for food will compete with efforts to miti-
gate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change [1,2].
With the expansion of high protein diet among many emerging economies,
large land areas will be required for livestock feed production [3,4]. This
land use will compete with crops for direct human consumption or biofuel
feedstock [5,6]. There is also concern about the large amounts of enteric
methane emitted by ruminant livestock [7], as well as the emissions of
nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide from all types of livestock operations
[8]. Important questions arise about which types of livestock satisfy the
demand for protein most efficiently, make the best use of the land resource
base and have the lowest carbon footprint. Therefore, to help the live-
