Turkey Farmers of Canada completes lifecycle assessment of the turkey sector

Turkey farmers, breeders, the feed industry and processing sector across Canada came together to participate in a lifecycle assessment (LCA) of the turkey industry.

The study was conducted by Groupe AGÉCO and funded in part by the Government of Canada under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriAssurance Program.

“This is an important part of the sustainability journey at Turkey Farmers of Canada,” says Darren Ference, chair, Turkey Farmers of Canada. “It also demonstrates turkey farmers’ commitment to work on reducing their environmental impact.”

The LCA establishes how current practises contribute to the carbon footprint and social performance of the turkey sector.

The study provides a benchmark from which to evaluate future work.

The LCA also demonstrates the continued progress of environmental efficiency of turkey farming.

As a result of genetic improvements to commercially grown turkeys, developments in the nutritional profile of feed rations, and husbandry have reduced the amount of feed consumed per bird to get to market weight.

Overall emissions have been reduced by 10% per kg of eviscerated turkey over the last decades.

“We know consumers have an increased interest in environmental and socially sustainable food and are looking for transparency from the agriculture sector,” Ference says.

“I am proud of the hard work by Canadian turkey farmers towards more environmentally conscious farming practises. Participating in this study to benchmark and track future sustainability goals.”

LCA is an assessment method regulated by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14040/14044).

LCA can help uncover the relative contribution of life cycle stages, identify hotspots and areas of improvement, and through scenario analysis, identify pathways for improvement.

For further information on the Lifecycle Assessment, an infographic of key findings are available online: turkeyfarmersofcanada.ca/on-the-farm/sustainability.