When it comes to valuing innovation such as genetic improvement, one of the most important steps you can take is to complete a life cycle assessment (LCA), explains Chris Hostetler, director of animal science at the National Pork Board.
LCAs verify the environmental impact data is defensible, Hostetler says, so you don’t have a situation where an innovation is accused of greenwashing. LCAs allow you to test and verify the entire system to determine if carbon equivalents were, in fact, generated.
“It’s very critical that an LCA be conducted for any innovation that would be coming into the market in terms of a carbon asset,” he adds. “I cannot tell you if I can fit a metric ton of carbon equivalents in my front pocket. Carbon is not visible. So, the data is where the reliability of those claims comes from. For me, being able to collect the data accurately, and in a defensible manner, is critical to ensuring that the carbon assets are what they say they are.”
That’s a gap that PIC has been working to address.