Formulating diets for growing pigs: economic and environmental considerations

We look at the environmental impact of formulating diets for an animal production system, namely the case of growing pigs. The classic approach in animal production is to use a growth model based on the least‐cost diet formulation. This optimal diet is generally established by linear programming. Such an approach can lead to adverse environmental effects in the form of nitrogen and phosphorus excretions. Multi‐criteria (two and three criteria) models are proposed with the aim of addressing both economic and environmental considerations. We apply the models to two real‐life contexts: Québec (Canada) and France, and make some comparisons. We show that important reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus excretions can be achieved at relatively low costs in both contexts.