Incentives for More Environmentally-Friendly Production Required
WASHINGTON and ROME, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Industrial livestock
production in developing countries often causes severe environmental damages,
especially when meat and dairy factories are crowded together around cities or
close to water resources, FAO warned today.
In a report entitled Livestock Policy Brief 02, Pollution from
industrialized livestock production the UN agency urged governments to create
incentives for more environmentally friendly dairy and meat production
practices.
Meat and dairy products have become more widely available and affordable
in many developing countries. Between 1980 and 2004, meat production in
developing countries tripled from around 50 million to 150 million tons.
Although consumers in developed countries still eat three to four times as
much meat per person, developing countries now produce and consume well over
half of the world's meat.
The rapid growth of livestock production in the developing world has been
concentrated mainly in a few large countries, including Brazil, Mexico, China
and the countries around the South China Sea (Thailand, Vietnam and the
Philippines). Meat production in developing countries is expected to increase
by about 110 million tons by 2030.
From cattle to pig and poultry
In many developing countries large industrial livestock operations with
thousands of animals have displaced production on small farms that raise both
animals and crops and recycle nutrients as fodder and fertilizer. New
production has shifted increasingly from cattle that graze on grass in rural
areas to industrial pig and poultry production on the outskirts of major
cities. In Asia, large-scale industrial production accounts for roughly 80
percent of the total increase in livestock products since 1990.
In industrial production systems, large quantities of animal wastes
accumulate far from croplands where they could be safely recycled. Dense
concentrations of industrial livestock production create vast quantities of
manure. Although much lower on a national scale, concentration of pig and
poultry production in parts of China and Brazil is approaching and surpassing
levels found in Europe and North America.
Pig and poultry production concentrated in coastal areas of China,
Thailand and Vietnam are emerging as the major source of nutrient pollution of
the South China Sea, the FAO report said. Pig production accounts for an
estimated 42 percent of nitrogen and 90 percent of phosphorus flows into the
South China Sea. Along much of the densely populated coast, the pig density
exceeds 100 animals per square kilometer and agricultural lands are overloaded
with huge nutrient surpluses. Run-off is severely degrading seawater and
sediment quality in one of the world's most biologically diverse marine areas,
threatening mangroves, coral reefs and sea grasses.
Major forms of pollution associated with manure management in intensive
livestock production include:
--Leaching of nitrates and pathogens into groundwater, which often
threatens drinking water supplies.
--Oversupply of nutrients that damages soil fertility. In several Asian
countries, one quarter of the total crop area suffers from significant
nutrient overloads. Almost half the excess phosphorus supply comes
from livestock.
--Destruction of fragile ecosystems such as wetlands, mangrove swamps and
coral reefs. Threatened coastal areas of the South China Sea, for
example, have provided the habitat for 45 of the world's 51 mangrove
species, almost all of the known coral species and 20 of the 50 known
sea grasses.
Policy change
Government policies such as zoning regulations and taxes can discourage
large concentrations of intensive production close to cities, the report said.
Taxes, certification programs and other policy instruments can support best
practices in livestock production. In Thailand, for example, the high
concentration of poultry production on the outskirts of Bangkok was
significantly reduced in less than a decade, because poultry farmers within a
100 kilometer radius of Bangkok had to pay high taxes. Chicken farmers outside
that zone enjoyed tax-free status.
Unfortunately, in many countries outdated and misguided policies actively
promote environmentally unsustainable livestock production, FAO said. Many
developing countries provide subsidies for chemical fertilizers, energy and
credit. Such subsidies tend to be of greater benefit to large operations.
Eliminating subsidies, adjusting taxes and providing incentives for
investing in technology to reduce pollution could reduce the environmental
damage caused by industrial livestock production.
For more information on the work of FAO please visit http://www.fao.org.
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