Livestock Production and

Environment
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated
animals raised in an agricultural setting to
produce commodities such as food, fiber and
labor. The term "livestock" as used in this
article does not include poultry or farmed fish;
however the inclusion of these, especially
poultry, within the meaning of "livestock" is
common.
In general, environment refers to the
surroundings of an object, or the Natural
environment, all living and non-living things that
occur naturally on Earth
An ecosystem is a biological environment
consisting of all the living organisms or biotic
component, in a particular area, and the
nonliving, or abiotic component, with which the
organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and
sunlight.
Landscape comprises the visible features of an
area of land, including the physical elements
of landforms such as mountains, hills, water
bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the
sea, living elements of land cover including
indigenous vegetation, human elements
including different forms of land use, buildings
and structures, and transitory elements such
as lighting and weather conditions.
A greenhouse gas (sometimes abbreviated
GHG) is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs
and emits radiation within the thermal
infrared range. This process is the
fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect.
The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's
atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.
Greenhouse gases greatly affect the
temperature of the Earth; without them,
Earth's surface would be on average about
33 C (59 F) colder than at present.
The greenhouse effect is a process by which
thermal radiation from a planetary surface is
absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases,
and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part
of this re-radiation is back towards the
surface, energy is transferred to the surface
and the lower atmosphere. As a result, the
average surface temperature is higher than it
would be if direct heating by solar radiation
were the only warming mechanism.
Importance of Livestock Sector
Contribution to National economy - GDP
Unemployment and under employment
Nutrient
Save foreign exchange
Land use
Covert human inedible to edible
Landscape
Biodiversity/ ecosystems
Nutrient Cycling

Future growth
Future growth in consumption driven by
Population increase
Income
Preferences
Over 80% in developing countries
Most growth predicted in Pigs and Poultry
Concerns about environmental sustainability
of the sector

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Causes:

Increased industrial
animal production

More intensive use of
local resources
Underlying causes:

Increase demand for
animal products

Increase in animals
Decrease of local
resources
Impact of Production on Environment
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Nutrient Flows, Risks & Benefits
Feed

Converted by Animals into

Products for Consumption and

Manure for Crop and Feed Production
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Nutrient Flows and Benefits
FEED
FARM
ANIMALS
PRODUCTS
MANURE
CROPS
Nutrients
Used
Nutrients
Saved
Nutrients
Saved
CROP - LIVESTOCK INTEGRATION
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Nutrient Flows and Risks
FEED
FARM
ANIMALS
PRODUCTS
MANURE
CROPS
DEGRADATION POLLUTION LOSSES
CROP AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN ISOLATION
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Environmental impacts
Land
Water
Air
Vegetation
Bio-diversity
Genetic-diversity

degradation, erosion
pollution N, additives
N and C emissions
change in compostion
loss of habitat
loss of breeds
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Technologies:
Feed Availability
Feed Quality
Animal Health
Human Health Risk
Animal Bio-diversity
Plant Bio-diversity
Farm Productivity
Policies:
Knowledge
Financial
Property-rights
Regulations
Institutional reform
Organisational
Options
OPTIONS
Challenge
The need to continue to deliver productivity
(efficiency) gains to provide food security/
meet demand (not through increased animal
numbers)
Ensure rural livelihoods
Improving environmental sustainability,
Managing animal and human health risks.