A field to table carbon footprint profile of the Spanish pork industry and its future outlook

Livestock food chains are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the food system, with pork production among the most significant. Despite this, research on livestock systems high emissions remains limited, especially considering country-specific consumption patterns. Transportation of feed, raw materials, and products also adds notably to total emissions. This study quantifies the Spanish pork food chain from cradle to household transport, with detailed analysis of foreign feed, international and national transport, livestock activities, processing, and inter-regional distribution. Pork consumption in Spain emits 15.8 TgCO 2 eq, with emissions highly concentrated—just 5 of 50 provinces account for 49%. The majority of emissions come from feed (61%), livestock activity (27%), and processing (9%). Notably, 65% of feed-related emissions are tied to imported commodities—mainly from Latin America—meaning about half of total pork chain emissions occur abroad. Transport represents 16% of emissions, mostly from feed transport (79%), followed by carcass and product transport. The carbon footprint of pork products (fresh meat, fats, salted-cooked products, offal, and ready-to-eat items) ranges from 6.0-8.0 kgCO 2 eq per kg of carcass equivalent, with an average of 7 kgCO 2 eq. To reduce emissions, the study suggests recovering the Mediterranean diet—aligned with local resource availability—reducing meat consumption in Spain and globally, and promoting alternative agroecological production models.