World Livestock Demand Means Major Change

August 1, 2000

Soaring demand for high-value animal protein is provoking a major transformation of the world's livestock sector, from one based on available waste and surplus products to one that looks aggressively for new resources, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This is provoking concern that environmental degradation often associated with livestock production will intensify, according to the FAO.

A recent global study was conducted to identify ways of helping the livestock sector satisfy future demands while preserving the natural resource base. Addressed to both policymakers and technicians, the study pointed out that if, as a result of livestock production, forests are cut down, rivers polluted or soil overloaded with nitrates, animals themselves are blameless: "Livestock do not destroy the environment - people do. Ignorance, indifference and policies that misguide resource use are responsible for environmental degradation. Individual livestock owners, particularly in developing countries, often have very few options. It is up to policy makers to ensure that these options are environmentally sound." The study analysed several environmental "hot spots" where livestock-environment interactions are particularly critical.

FAO says about 60% of the world's agricultural land is used for grazing some 360 million cattle and more than 600 million sheep and goats. Grazing animals supply about 10% of world production of beef and about 30% of sheep and goat meat. For an estimated 100 million people in arid areas - and probably a similar number in other zones - grazing livestock is the only feasible source of livelihood, according to FAO.

"The great advantage of livestock grazing is that it converts to useful products resources what would otherwise be wasted," the organization says. "In the process, grazing animals play a positive environmental role: they improve the diversity of grasses by dispersing seeds, and break up the soil crust. This is why arid rangelands are a dynamic and highly resilient ecosystem, provided the number of people and animals that the land can support remains in balance. Indeed, the ability to recover after drought is one of the main indicators of long term environmental and social sustainability in arid grazing systems."

FAO’s full report is available on the Internet at http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/magazine/9809/spot4.htm