Ecology

In South America, natural vegetation is being turned into pastureland and monocultures to support an unsustainable form of livestock production. In Africa and Asia, on the other hand, a sustainable form of livestock raising is losing ground to industrialized agriculture. Traditional local communities are the losers.

Global meat companies play a major role in determining how meat and feed are produced, transported and traded. Food is big business: the 100 largest food and beverage firms around the world include 10 main meat producers and processors.

Big Meat attracts big money. Both private and public investors pour money into meat and dairy corporations, further boosting their market power and fuelling yet more consolidation in an already concentrated industry. The environmental and social damage caused by the industry is largely overlooked.

In many countries, women do most of the farm work, but they are not allowed to make most of the decisions. They have to balance caring for their children and elderly parents with looking after the chickens and goats. Livestock can be a welcome source of extra money, but may also mean more work. And if selling eggs and milk becomes more profitable, men very often take charge.

More than a third of all crops worldwide end up in the stomachs of livestock. That includes one billion tonnes a year of soybeans and maize alone. The feed and livestock industries want to increase that even further.

Livestock’s share of global greenhouse gas emissions is understated. The climate footprint of the animals and the feed they need is significant. There are ways to change that.

All animal products have a water footprint: the amount of water needed to produce them. It is not just the total amount that is important, but the types of water that are needed. There is enough “green” water. But the volumes of “blue” and “grey” water should be kept low.

Pesticide applications are on the rise across the globe. Some of the most dangerous substances have been banned in the European Union, but are still being used on a large scale in other parts of the world. Many are intended for the cultivation of soybean and maize, which are destined mainly for use as livestock feed.

Nitrogen pollution from livestock manure is an increasing problem in many parts of the world. Countries in the European Union have lots of ideas on how to reduce such contamination of their environments. One approach is through closer monitoring of industrial livestock producers and restricting the amount of manure slurry that crop farmers are allowed to apply.

Across the globe, peatlands are being drained for farming and raising livestock. But dried-out peat emits huge amounts of greenhouse gases. Agricultural policy should initiate the transformation to the climate-friendly use of these areas.