SOCIETAL CONCERNS REGARDING SUSTAINABILITY OF PIG PRODUCTION SYSTEMS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Environmental and climate issues, together with animal welfare, are drawing significant media attention, challenging livestock producers to make their operations more sustainable. Highly industrialised systems, commonly associated with intensive farming, enable the efficient rearing of large animal population and contribute to food security through stable supplies and lower prices. However, while intensification has improved productivity, it raises animal welfare and ethical concerns. This article presents a comprehensive literature review on societal concerns regarding sustainability of pig production systems. Therefore, for the purpose of this research, 26 peer-reviewed articles (both quantitative and qualitative studies) were selected, focused strictly on consumers/citizens’ attitudes towards different aspects of sustainability related to pig production. This review has shown that despite an increase in societal concerns regarding different aspects of sustainability, the wider public has little knowledge about different systems of pig production but strong negative perceptions towards modern farming practices. Thus, reconciling the need for efficient food production with ecological and welfare considerations remains a major challenge.