13
The types of gases produced from livestock production (the enteric emissions of
the animals, the manure, the feed production) contribute in a significant way to climate change. Additional emissions are also created by animals due to the manure or
the aquaculture ponds (Poore and Nemecek 2018). Nonetheless the same emissions
from slaughterhouses and from processing meat industries, the wastage of fresh
animal products contribute in a very significant way to pollution (Cooper et al. 2000).
2 The Impact on the Environment
On a closer inspection, not only impact the livestock and the meat transformation
industries on climate change, they affect also the lives of people, living close to
facilities where animals are kept confined and fed. In the past few decades, livestock
farming has undergone a significant transformation, shifting from smaller, familyowned farms to large farms corporations. New technologies have allowed farmers to
reduce costs, and increase profits, while the use of special feeds and pharmaceuticals products for animal have increased the efficiency and productivity of animal
agriculture. The benefits for the market are evident as a large-scale industrial agricultural facility permits the raising of the animals, in much less time than before and
is able to satisfy the growing consumption’s demand of meat, eggs, or milk. The
efficient feeding of animals increases the livestock facility size, and can positively impact on the local economy and lead to a permanent increase in employment
(Schmalzried and Fallon 2007).
However, if this is true is also evident that these aforementioned advantages are
mitigated by a series of health and environmental problems. One of the most pressing issues associated with this way of production stems from the amount of manures
these industries produce. The manure, in fact, contains a variety of pollutants, such
as chemicals used as additives to the manure, antibiotics, nitrogen, phosphorus,
growth hormones, animal blood, pathogens such as E. coli etc. (Burkholder et al.
2007), which can contamite ground and source water. The quantity of manure production depends, of course, on the size of the farm, and creates major disposal
problems as no sewage treatment plants exists for the livestock waste. The untreated
manure is either spread on the ground or stored in clay or concrete pits under the
buildings that hold animals, until it is used. Of course, the use of manure as fertilizer
depends on the fact that the farming industries grow their own feed, which doesn’t
always happen. The large production and use of manure impact humans and led to
growing environmental problems as it can affect the ground, the surface water quality and the ambient air quality, contributing to the global climate change. The environmental problems caused by these large industrial farms are therefore deeply
connected with this intensive way of production. Where, as in the United States, this
transformation has assumed considerable dimension, a growing body of legislations
has been enacted trying to regulate this kind of activity.
In the USA, for example, the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)
is an industrial agricultural facility where animals are raised for the production of
Animal Based Industries and Climate Change
The types of gases produced from livestock production (the enteric emissions of
the animals, the manure, the feed production) contribute in a significant way to climate change. Additional emissions are also created by animals due to the manure or
the aquaculture ponds (Poore and Nemecek 2018). Nonetheless the same emissions
from slaughterhouses and from processing meat industries, the wastage of fresh
animal products contribute in a very significant way to pollution (Cooper et al. 2000).
2 The Impact on the Environment
On a closer inspection, not only impact the livestock and the meat transformation
industries on climate change, they affect also the lives of people, living close to
facilities where animals are kept confined and fed. In the past few decades, livestock
farming has undergone a significant transformation, shifting from smaller, familyowned farms to large farms corporations. New technologies have allowed farmers to
reduce costs, and increase profits, while the use of special feeds and pharmaceuticals products for animal have increased the efficiency and productivity of animal
agriculture. The benefits for the market are evident as a large-scale industrial agricultural facility permits the raising of the animals, in much less time than before and
is able to satisfy the growing consumption’s demand of meat, eggs, or milk. The
efficient feeding of animals increases the livestock facility size, and can positively impact on the local economy and lead to a permanent increase in employment
(Schmalzried and Fallon 2007).
However, if this is true is also evident that these aforementioned advantages are
mitigated by a series of health and environmental problems. One of the most pressing issues associated with this way of production stems from the amount of manures
these industries produce. The manure, in fact, contains a variety of pollutants, such
as chemicals used as additives to the manure, antibiotics, nitrogen, phosphorus,
growth hormones, animal blood, pathogens such as E. coli etc. (Burkholder et al.
2007), which can contamite ground and source water. The quantity of manure production depends, of course, on the size of the farm, and creates major disposal
problems as no sewage treatment plants exists for the livestock waste. The untreated
manure is either spread on the ground or stored in clay or concrete pits under the
buildings that hold animals, until it is used. Of course, the use of manure as fertilizer
depends on the fact that the farming industries grow their own feed, which doesn’t
always happen. The large production and use of manure impact humans and led to
growing environmental problems as it can affect the ground, the surface water quality and the ambient air quality, contributing to the global climate change. The environmental problems caused by these large industrial farms are therefore deeply
connected with this intensive way of production. Where, as in the United States, this
transformation has assumed considerable dimension, a growing body of legislations
has been enacted trying to regulate this kind of activity.
In the USA, for example, the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)
is an industrial agricultural facility where animals are raised for the production of
Animal Based Industries and Climate Change