March 12, 2007

FAO: Agriculture should be more intensive
 

To minimise the effects that animal production has on the environment, intensive livestock farming should be even more intensive, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

This conclusion was drawn in the recent publication report by FAO named "Livestock's long shadow". This inference was based on the expected growth in the global meat production between now and 2050. At present, livestock industries use 30 percent of global land acreage and is projected to increase by 70 percent in 2050.

If meat consumption doubles, production per hectare should be increased or the acreage should be increased, which means lesser trees will be cut down. However, if the production of animal feed or food can be increased on the same amount of land, other parts can also be saved, according to the report.

The report also pleads for less meat consumption as global meat production contributes to 18 percent of the greenhouse emissions, more than traffic and transportation pollution can cause. To prevent further environmental damage, the emissions per kilogramme on meat or litre milk should be reduced by 50 percent, the FAO report said.