Life Cycle Assessment of a finishing farm and potential mitigation scenarios

European meat production is a resource intensive and energy demanding field that has a significant environmental impact. However, the scope of existing scientific literature on beef production is limited regarding the cattle finishing stage, which is a fundamental puzzle-piece in the grander scheme of meat production. This thesis presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a beef finishing farm using as a case study the Cascina Camia di Testa Bruno, to identify environmental hotspots and propose plausible mitigation strategies. A cradle-to-farm-gate system was adopted, considering processes up to the point where livestock are fattened, but excluding slaughter and distribution. The total body weight gain (BWG) of cattle was selected as the functional unit to better represent the specialized farm activity. Its environmental performance was analyzed by using standardized LCA methods, with data obtained from the Agribalyse and Ecoinvent databases. ReCiPe Midpoint (H) and Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) were employed as impact assessment methods to quantify environmental burdens. This study identifies feed production, logistics and off-farm cattle management as the primary contributors to the potential environmental impact. The study proposes sustainable strategies, like transitioning to electric vehicles, expanding photovoltaic (PV) installations, improving transportation efficiency, and optimizing feed composition to reduce emissions.