Ecology

Antibiotics help to treat many diseases. The big problem: in both humans and animals, pathogens can develop antibiotic resistance – a fatal danger. And in industrial livestock production, these drugs are still not being used carefully enough.

Livestock production and meat consumption stimulate outbreaks of diseases that can be transmitted from wild animals to humans. Such zoonoses can have catastrophic consequences – as Covid-19 has shown.

Mobile herders move with their herds or flocks in the remotest of pastures. This form of animal production, known as pastoralism, is economically important and climate-friendly, but it is under severe threat.

India is the world’s largest exporter of buffalo, sheep and goat meat. Remarkably, the majority of this output is produced in traditional agropastoral systems.

Representative surveys in various countries have found a surprising amount of public support for reduced consumption of meat. Policymakers must find the right package and sequence of measures to stimulate the transition to a more sustainable future.

Intensive livestock production creates environmental and animal welfare problems. Reforms currently being considered to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy do not go nearly far enough to resolve these. But improvements can be made even within the current system.

Buy meat from a supermarket, and you can probably choose between organic and non-organic. But with the non-organic products, you have no way of telling whether the animal was treated well, or was stuck in a pen with little room to move. Calls are growing for meat labels that show the conditions under which the animals are raised.

As part of its Green Deal, the European Commission has proposed a “Farm to Fork Strategy”. This is the EU’s most coherent attempt yet to respond to the fundamental challenges plaguing the food system. But much will depend on converting highgrand-sounding words into actual policies.

Lab-grown meat is a disruptive innovation that could help resolve sustainability and health issues related to livestock, as well as reducing the numbers of animals farmed. But the sustainability gains do not yet match expectations.

Adding insects to our menus could help overcome the world’s food-supply problems. But the industrial production of insects is controversial: would it be useful or dangerous?