Livestock production has become a major envioronmental management
challenge. When its full commodity chain is included, the sector
contributes to global warming, causes stress on land by grazing,
increases demand for water for feed crop production and leads to water
pollution by animal waste and chemicals
80 per cent of the growth in livestock production is due to
industrial production.Production of pig and chicken have gone
up; cattle, sheep and goat down |
It contributes 18 per cent of total greenhouse gas emission,
accounting for 37 per cent of anthropogenic methane emission and 65 per
cent of nitrous oxide
26 per cent of earth's land is used for grazing. One-third of total arable
land produces animal feed crops. Effects are most visible in Latin
America. 70 per cent of original Amazon is now pasture, and a large part
of the rest is used for feed crop cultivation
8 per cent of total human water use goes for irrigation of feed crop. On
the other hand the sector is single largest contributor to water
pollution. Key pollutants
Animal waste, antibiotics and hormones during raising
Fertiliser and pesticides for feed crop
Chemicals from tanneries
Sediments from eroded pastures
There is a dramatic increase in pasture over last two centuries due to
increasing demand of livestock product. It has created deforestation,
and encroached upon wildlife areas. Livestock production is also moving
towards urban centres, where transport hubs are located
Industrial livestock production now competes directly with other
sectors over scarce resources like land and water
Average increase in income has caused major boost to livestock
products consumption. Global meat production is going to be double, 229
million tonnes in 1999 to 465 in 2050. Milk production in the same
period is expected to go up 580 million tonnes to 1043. It calls for an
immediate halving of its environmental effect of current level
Increasing consumption is not distributed equally among world population.
Developing Asia has a remarkable increase of 130 per cent in meat
product consumption between 1980 and 2002, while sub Sahara reflects a
decline of 11 per cent due to poverty
| The biggest
problem in the sector comes out of lopsided economy as input
prices do not internalise real cost of environmental
degradation. This causes severe inefficiency and results in
unreal low output prices that spirals more demand |
Livestock economy contributes only
1.5 per cent of total global GDP. Though not major economic activity, it
is of great political and social importance. It gives 40 per cent of
gross domestic agricultural products and employs 1.3 billion. It needs
greater focus from policy makers as it provides livelihood to a billion
of poors in drylands |
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