Animals and the Environment

Sustainability

  • What is Sustainability?

    • Systems that balance social acceptability, economic viability, and environmental responsibility

    • too complex for 1 blanket, global solution

    • Focus on providing for today without inhibiting the ability to provide for tomorrow

  • In agriculture, conflict btwn demand and recourse scarcity

  • Social media often fails to reflect complexity

Water

  • Primary polluting risk from livestock is manure

    • Nitrogen

    • Phosphorous

  • Manure stored until applied to the field

  • Excess N and P in water stimulates eutrophication

    • Eutrophication: increase in algae and small plants

    • Cloudy water

    • Depletes beneficial plants, fish, and other aquatic species

  • Clean Water Act

    • EPA has power to protect water

    • Regulations vary by state

  • Best practices

    • Maintain manure holding structures to minimize runoff

    • Don’t apply manure to ground when ground is wet or frozen

    • Apply manure carefully to avoid over fertilizing

    • Keep livestock out of water

    • Prevent overgrazing

  • Water Use:

    • 1 pound beef— 1,847 gal. water

      • 97% green water— rain water

    • Livestock— 1% water use in the US

      • Does not include water for irrigating crops

    • Thermoelectric power uses the most water

Land Use

Crop Allocation

  • 57% of crops produced in Us used for animal feed

  • 38% of corn and 90% of soybeans grown in US used for animal feed

  • By products:

    • Ethanol

    • Biodiesel

    • Crop residues

Air

  • Air quality

    • Increased dust

    • Odors

      • Can travel up to 3 miles

      • permit process and public comment periods

  • Climate Change

    • Manure, rumination, feed production, transport = gas emissions

    • Contribute to greenhouse gases and climate change

    • Greenhouse Effect

      • light from sun passes through atmosphere

      • Radiated as heat

      • GG trap this heat in the atmosphere, warming the surface of the earth

      • CO2, methane, etc.

Animal Agriculture and Emissions

  • according to EPA, agriculture accounts for ~10% U.S emissions

    • Methane and manure emissions—1/3 of this

    • Rest is soil and fertilization related

    • All agriculture

  • Fossil fuels regarded as the main contributions to climate change

    • Gases released by manure and methane produced by rumination—>CO2—> CO2 removed from atmosphere by grass, crops, trees

  • Main sources:

    • Feed production

    • Fermentation

    • Manure management

  • Reducing Emissions:

    • Electric fermentation

      • Increase fermentation efficiency

      • Diet manipulation

    • Manure

      • Change storage techniques

    • Breeding and genetics

      • Create more “efficient” animals

  • Increased efficiency improves sustainability

    • Less dairy cows

    • 60% more milk

    • 2/3 reduction in carbon footprint

  • Using Manure for Fuel

    • In some species—> manure collected and held

    • Bacterial breakdown of this manure produces gases (methane)

    • Can cover tank to encourage anaerobic bacteria and capture methane

    • Mostly dairy, some pigs

  • Would reducing meat consumption help?

    • 35% reduction in dietary greenhouse gas emissions if animal product consumption decrease 50%

      • More if decreased further

      • But, uses global emissions numbers

      • Only accounts for diet emissions

      • In this scenario: average American consumes 50.1 lbs meat/year

      • Similar total reductions achieved in everyone drove 10% less

Food Waste

  • In the US, nearly 40% of food is wasted

  • Also wastes:

    • 32% fresh water

    • 4% energy

    • 20% land

    • 25% increased methane

  • Nearly all of this is at the consumer level (44% residential, 33% restaurants)

CAFOs

CAFOs and Sustainability

  • CAFO—confined annual feeding operation

    • Factory farms

    • No vegetation over where facility where animals are confined

    • Exceeds threshold for number of animals confined

  • Regulated by the Clean Water Act

    • Must meet state water quality standards

    • Can only discharge pollutants with permits

  • CAFOs inspected to ensure they meet regulations

  • CAFOs required to obtain permit if they discharge N or P

    • discharge limits

    • Water quality criteria

CAFOs and the Environment

  • Manure storage regulated to prevent runoff

  • Generally larger operations are more modern than small, local farms

    • Lower land use, water use, and carbon footprint

    • Economies of scale: more efficient transportation

  • Grass-fed vs. Grain-fed (conventional) meat

    • Grass-fed take longer to grow—less efficient— more land, water and energy use

Economics

  • Many owned by family farmers

  • Consolidation to fewer, larger farms

    • More animals on farm— Lower cost/animal

    • Allow farmers to profit

  • Increased efficiency

  • Pay taxes

Welfare

  • Most relate to housing

    • Space per animal

    • Balance with profitability

  • Death loss

    • Normal part of animal production

    • More animals—> greater death numbers