April 9, 2007

Eco-friendly farming benefits animal welfare too
 

Both animal welfare and the environment benefit when farmers practise eco-friendly farming, according to a study by a Dutch university.

The studies, conducted by Wageningen University and Research Centre, said that energy use and greenhouse gas emission per hectare is lower when animals are given more welfare, or what is now called biodynamic farming or biological farming.

Housing animals biologically causes more natural behaviour, especially in pigs and poultry, causing them to be less aggressive, the study also said.

Sales of biological meat in the Netherlands rose 5 percent in 2006 compared to 2005. The biological meat market is worth EUR 57.6 million in the country. One fifth of the biological meat consists of pork while an almost equal proportion consists of chicken.