Towards sustainable livestock: evaluating farm practices within a planetary boundaries perspective
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Arias, Ana
González-Pintos, Martina
Moreira, Maria Teresa
Feijoo, Gumersindo
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Ensuring food security and advancing a sustainable food sector are vital for both present and future generations. As the global population grows, food demand increases, making the assessment of sustainability across food value chains increasingly important. The planetary boundaries concept identifies critical Earth system processes that must be maintained within safe limits to avoid irreversible environmental damage and to ensure planetary resilience. Dairy farming significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, land-use change, water consumption, and nutrient release, resulting in a substantial environmental impact. By assessing dairy farms against planetary boundaries, it is possible to determine whether their production activities operate within safe ecological limits or exceed them. This study focuses on the livestock sector in Galicia (Spain) by analyzing 100 dairy farms with varying production capacities and technological levels. Sustainability was evaluated using the planetary boundaries framework, considering four categories: ocean acidification (PBOA), stratospheric ozone depletion (PBSOD), climate change – energy imbalance (PBCC,imb), and atmospheric CO2 concentration (PBCC,CO2). The analysis assessed whether the farms meet sustainability standards by aligning their practices with the Earth system's biophysical limits. Most farms are below the PBs threshold values; however, some exceed the allocated limit for the PBCC,imb boundary. Adopting sustainable resource management practices, reducing waste production, and food supplementation are essential for advancing more sustainable practices in the livestock sector. Farms with higher technological maturity tend to exhibit lower climate change impacts (1.13·10−11 Wm−2/kg protein), although the difference compared to farms with lower technological maturity (1.97·10−11 Wm−2/kg protein) is not statistically significant. When considering farm age, established farms show lower climate change impacts: 1.13·10−11 Wm−2/kg protein, than younger farms, 1.85·10−11 Wm−2/kg protein. Applying the planetary boundaries framework to dairy farming links local agricultural practices with global sustainability goals, highlighting the interconnectedness between farm-level decisions and planetary health.
Date Issued
2026-05-01
Date Acceptance
2026-03-14
Citation
Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 2026, 27
ISSN
2666-1543
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Agriculture and Food Research
Volume
27
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
102844
Date Publish Online
2026-03-18