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LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA) AS A FRAMEWORK FOR ADDRESSING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS (CAFOS)
Citation:
DOBY, T., M. GONZALEZ, AND MARY ANN CURRAN. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA) AS A FRAMEWORK FOR ADDRESSING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS (CAFOS). In Proceedings, 2006 World Environmental & Water Resources Congress, Omaha, NE, May 21 - 25, 2006. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA, 1, (2006).
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
The challenges Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) directly pose to sustainability include their impact on human health, receiving water bodies, groundwater, and air quality. These challenges result from the large quantities of macronutrients (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus), micronutrients (sulfur and heavy metals), and antibiotics contained in the effluent from CAFOs. Technologies exist to deal with the challenges CAFOs present. We show how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a useful framework to evaluate the knowledge gaps when combining technologies currently available for dealing with the sustainabiltiy of CAFOs.