Feed eco-design: how to make a good decision?Part 2- Rebound effects of ecofeed production

Abstract

International audienceThis study takes place in a context where the feed manufacturers have access to eco labeling databases which allow them to do eco design and produce feeds with less environmental impacts. First results of eco feed show substitutions between feedstuffs compared to standard feed. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the rebound effects of the production of eco feed for pigs if the practice becomes widespread in France. A mind map was built with 5 experts to identify in a qualitative way the panel of different consequences. We then focused on the one concerning the change of crop rotations to produce eco feed. We chose a virtual territory dedicated to produce the feedstuffs for a pig farm and assessed the environmental impacts by LCA using different functional units and perimeters. The situation with the production of eco feeds can appeared better or worse compared to the production of standard feeds. This work underlines the complexity of eco design and the limit to do it with data from attributional LCA. It is necessary to complete the databases by information to make the users aware of the rebounds effects invisible during the eco design process