167 Impacts on Biodiversity, Environment and Society of Beef Production in the Mexican Tropics: A Life Cycle Assessment Approach

Beef production exerts strong environmental pressures and can also generate negative social effects. In this study, the impacts on biodiversity, environment and society of beef production in the Mexican tropics, were evaluated through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The functional unit of the study was 1 kg live weight of calf and focused on three productive systems: native silvopastoral (NSP), intensive silvopastoral (ISP) and monoculture (MC). This research was divided into four analysis steps. (1) social impacts; (2) damage to biodiversity; (3) methane emissions and 4) environmental LCA impacts. Using the Social-LCA, we evaluated 18 social indicators, grouped into five categories: human rights, working conditions, health and safety, socio-economic repercussions, and governance. The results showed similarities between the three livestock systems, which revealed a deficient social performance. For projecting the biodiversity damage of pasture land use from an LCA perspective, characterization factors (CFs) were estimated. CFs consist of dimensionless figures representing the potential for damage per unit area of pasture land (potential species loss per m2). The CFs were calculated for three levels of pasture land use intensity (minimal/NSP, light/ISP, intense/MC). Based on the characterization factors developed, the MC showed the least potential species loss. Enteric methane emissions from the production systems were determined using the IPCC Tier 2. The results revealed that the emissions values from enteric methane calculated with Tier 1 overestimated the emissions compared to Tier 2 methodology. LCA indicated a lower environmental impact of the MC on four of the seven categories analyzed, highlighting its lower contribution to climate change and reducing species loss. However, consumption of water and scarcity of fossil fuel resources increased. To achieve tropical sustainable livestock farming, further lines of research should be aimed at evaluating its economic impacts and propose management systems that guarantee better social and environmental performance.

Characterization of The Microbiome That Colonizes The Digestive Tract of Calves From 0 To 42 Days of Age, Raised In The Mexican Tropics.

In the first few weeks of a calf's life, the early colonization of microbes throughout the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is critical in its digestive system and immunity development. Analyses of data generated from next-generation sequencing platforms have revolutionized the understanding of host-associated microbial communities; these analyses can be done through a variety of bioinformatics pipelines. This study aimed to describe the diversity and evolution of gastrointestinal tract microbial communities in the first days of life of calves; for which we used the USEARCH and KRAKEN2 algorithms, in terms of alpha and beta diversity analysis in the rumen and jejunum contents of calves from 0, 7, 28, 42 days-born in the Mexican Tropic and its changes. The two pipelines detected similar abundance distributions in the three most abundant taxa Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes. The present study revealed the changes occurring in the rumen and jejunum ecosystem in the first week of life, reflected by a decline in the phylum Proteobacteria and an increase in phylum Bacteroidetes in rumen and Firmicutes in the jejunum. We observed an increase in the similarity in the phylum taxa with age, suggesting a homogeneous and specific mature community, compared with the primary community.

Assessing Sustainability in Cattle Silvopastoral Systems in the Mexican Tropics Using the SAFA Framework

The sub-humid native rainforest in Yucatan is one of the most endangered in Mexico. Cattle production is one of the main causes of land use change and silvopastoral systems are a feasible alternative. This work compares the sustainable performance of silvopastoral (native and intensive) and monoculture cattle farms in the state of Yucatan using the Sustainability Assessment for Food and Agriculture (SAFA) framework. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were applied in 9 farms. Responses were fed to the SAFA Tool to obtain sustainability polygons. Percentages of SAFA themes positively and negatively valuated were calculated. Native farms had positive ratings for Participation, Land, Biodiversity and Cultural Diversity, whereas intensive excelled on Holistic Management. Native farms had limited ratings for Decent Livelihood. Native farms (and one intensive silvopastoral farm) had the highest percentages of themes positively valuated compared to monocultures (and one intensive silvopastoral farm), which scored the lowest. Positive evaluations identified native systems as an option for sustainable production; however, areas of opportunity in all farms were discovered. This is the first comparative study using SAFA to evaluate differences in farming systems in the Mexican tropics, providing valuable information to generate policies and incentives on sustainable livestock production, as well as for improving evaluation tools for local application.

Prediction of Milk Production per Cow Lactation in the Mexican Tropics

Objective: To evaluate non-linear and linear mathematical models used to estimate milk production per lactation, at different frequencies of milk weighing from records of Holstein (Ho), Brown Swiss (BS) cows and their crosses with Zebu (Z). Design/Methodology/Approach: The models evaluated were: Wood, Wilmink and Linear Interpolation. Daily records of milk production from 471 lactations of 72 cows were used; 1,884 records were created with frequencies of weekly, biweekly and monthly milk production. The following were included in the statistical model: the genotype (Ho X Z andSP X Z), birth season (rainy and dry), and number of lactation (1 and 2) with double and triple interactions. The statistical analyses were performed with GLM from MINITAB v17. The means were compared with Tukey’s test. Results: No differences were found (P?0.05) between the models for the average milk production per lactation in kg, obtained from daily measurements or estimated from weekly, biweekly and monthly data, although for the factors of birth season, number of lactation, and genotype they showed differences (P ? 0.05) in milk production per lactation. Study Limitations/Implications: Daily records of milk production are necessary to obtain production per lactation; the models applied predict milk production in a similar way in different frequencies of weighing in Holstein, Brown Swiss cows and their crosses with Zebu. Findings/Conclusions: The models used allow predicting the milk production per cow in a similar way in different frequencies of weighing.

La lucha contra la ronda petrolera en México: el antagonismo del pueblo zoque de Chiapas

In the humid Mexican tropics, the State has been promoting an undercovered internal extractivism based on oil revenues to integrate the area into national development through energy matrix projects since the 1950´s. However, on June 22, 2017, Zoque communities managed to suspend the government’s flagship project, the 2.2 oil round that sought to extract 239 million barrels of oil from 10 indigenous municipalities in Chiapas. This article reflects on the political action of Movimiento Indígena del Pueblo Creyente Zoque en Defensa de la Vida y la Tierra (ZODEVITE) that is unfolding under the encyclical of the Laudato Sí of Pope Francis, in northern Chiapas.

Factores ambientales asociados con los días no-productivos de cerdas en el trópico mexicano

Objectives. To estimate the lifetime non-productive days (NPD), lifetime proportion of NPD (%NPD) and non-productive days per sow per year (NPD/Y), and to determine the effect of herd and sow level factors on the traits here studied in three pig farms in the Mexican tropics. Materials and methods. Data from 6703 sows from three commercial farms were used. The model that described the traits studied comprise the fixed effects of farm, year and season of first farrowing, age at first parity, reasons of removal of sows, year x season interaction and the residual error. Results. The means for lifetime NPD, %NPD and NPD/Y were 64 days, 12.0% and 39.3 days, respectively. All fixed factors had significant effects (p<0.01) on the characteristics evaluated. Sows having their first parity at an old age and sows culled because of reproductive reasons had the highest lifetime NPD. In addition, sows culled at first parity had lower lifetime NPD and higher %NPD than sows culled in subsequent farrowing. Conclusions. The early culling of sows increased the percentage of non-productive days, which in turn is expected to reduce the profit of farms.

Onthophagus landolti and Canthon indigaceus chevrolati (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) are attracted to the feces of ivermectin-treated cattle in the Mexican tropics

Ivermectin (IVM) is widely used for parasite control in livestock in the tropics. Residual IVM in feces conserves its insecticide activity for weeks and can harm dung beetle (DB) species. Attraction to the feces of IVM-treated cattle was tested using the DB species Onthophagus landolti (Harold) and Canthon indigaceus chevrolati (Harold) as models. Experiments were done under controlled laboratory conditions, semi-controlled field conditions and uncontrolled field conditions. Olfactometers were used in the controlled and semi-controlled trials. The control treatment was baited IVM-free feces, and the experimental treatments were the feces of cattle treated with 1 % IVM (subcutaneous administration; single, 0.2 mg/kg bw dosage) and collected at 5, 14, 21 and 28 days post-treatment. The uncontrolled field trial involved pitfall traps baited with IVM-free feces or feces from IVM-treated cattle collected five days post-treatment. Under controlled and semi-controlled conditions, the feces of IVM-treated cattle (at 5, 14, 21 or 28 days post-treatment) attracted more O. landolti and C. i. chevrolati individuals than IVM-free feces (P < 0.05). The same response occurred under uncontrolled conditions. This clear attraction for IVM-containing cattle feces by the studied DB species highlights that incorrect IVM use may pose a risk to DB communities in cattle production systems.