The Livestock business
•  Employs about a billion people
and more importantly livestock is
1/3 of humanity’s protein intake
especially beef (Steinfield).
Environmental Problems
•  Land degradation, climate change,
water shortage, water pollution, and
loss of biodiversity.
•  Raising livestock uses a lot of energy considering
food such as planting, harvesting, and transporting
(Hunt).
•  Production practices often lead to water pollution to
major bodies of water. According to the United
Nations, most of the pollution and some of the GHG
emission can be reduced by better management and
in some cases intensification (Steinfield).
Extensive Grazing- traditional farms
•  Land-use-changes, degrades land
and can cause erosion. Expansion of
livestock production has caused
deforestation especially in the Amazon
in South America with cattle ranches
Cattle feedlot.
and drying of the land.
•  Livestock is 20% of total terrestrial animals biomass and
equates to a lack of biodiversity.
Livestock Emissions
•  Livestock is responsible for 18% of
greenhouse gas emissions.
•  Livestock emits 37% methane, 65%
nitrous oxide, and 64% ammonia.
These gases mostly come from
ruminant animals such as cattle, and
Livestock emissions.
the manure they produce. (Steinfield)
•  Awareness of the practices in livestock production
has spread. A social shift has started, people want
to know where their food comes from and how it is
raised. People have begun to purchase from small
local farms, change their eating habits and moving
away from meat.
Aquaculture
•  Fish-farming has been practiced
around the world for thousands of
years
•  Over the last 30 years, the
Industry has grown exponentially
and is now accommodating both
fresh and saltwater species.
•  Aquaculture can be found both on land in tanks, in
man made ponds and in natural aquatic ecosystems
The Demand for Fish
•  Fish is an integral part of the diets for people around the
world and will continue to be forever. Aquaculture now
provides more fish to the market than wild fish
•  Fish provides a healthy protein that does not have the
land use problems associated with other sources of
protein like beef or chicken
•  Current projections show a global decline in populations
of wild fish species. This is very evident in Pacific Ocean
Salmon species that are far below historic levels due to
overfishing, habitat degradation and dams (Noakes,
Beamish and Kent)
•  The benefit of Fish-farming is the supplemental stocks of
fish that can now take the fishing pressure off of wild
species, hopefully helping to rebuild wild populations
Farmed Fish Effects
•  Net pens are used to raise
Salmon in the Pacific Ocean, but
these net pens are having
negative impacts on the
surrounding ecosystem and the
survival rates of juvenile wild
Farm fishery.
salmon (Krkosek and Ford)
•  For farmed salmon to become the Sustainable resource,
there must be improvements on the impacts it has on
wild fish; both the fish it shares the waters with and the
fish that are harvested just to feed the farmed fish
•  “If we don’t figure out how to make aquaculture part of
the solution, it’s going to be part of the problem” (Weise).
Farmers and Consumers
•  Composting retains water and cover
crops prevents erosion for farms.
•  $27 billion dollars each year goes to
replenishing water and soil on a
traditional farm.(Sullivan 8).
•  Sustainable food supports local
economies.
Ethics of Sustainable Agriculture
•  Sustainable agriculture avoids the use of harsh pesticides and
fertilizers.
•  On a traditional farm in 2008, 53 pesticide handlers were overexposed and needed medical attention and there are ~239
pesticide-contaminated sites around Washington state (Dept. of
Health).
•  Sustainable farms can provide safer, local and fresh food to
consumers as a healthier solution.
Cover Crops
Two plants in a cover
crop.
Crop Rotation
•  Supplies nutrients to the soil by changing the
vast root system to add new nutrients and limit
loss of biodiversity (Sullivan 9)
•  Lowers weed and pest populations due to the
ever shifting environment. Weeds tend to grow
better in less mineralized soils (Sullivan 5).
Crop rotation plants.
Composting
Compost cycle.
•  Microbes can work to break down materials and
enrich soil in the process of composting. After
composting, the soil contains the ideal ratio of
carbon to nitrogen, optimum for plant growth
(Sullivan 10).
Green Fertilizer/Manure
• Allows farm animals to put the nutrients they eat back into the
soil.
“Problems cannot be solved at the same level of
awareness that created them. ”
Albert Einstein
References: Hunt, Maria C.. "Doing what comes naturally Meat raised the old-­‐fashioned way catches the a>en?on of chefs and consumers." San Diego Union-­‐Tribune, The (CA) 25 Sep. 2002, 1,2,6,7, FOOD: E-­‐1. NewsBank. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. Krkošek, M., Ford, J. S., Morton, A., Lele, S., Myers, R. A. and Lewis, M. A. (2007). Declining wild salmon popula?ons in rela?on to parasites from farm salmon. Science 318: 1772-­‐1775. Noakes, D. J., R. J. Beamish, and M. L. Kent. "On the Decline of Pacific Salmon and Specula?ve Links to Salmon Farming in Bri?sh Columbia." Aquaculture 183.3 (2000): 363-­‐86. CABDirect2. Web. Steinfield, Henning, Pierre Gerber, Tom Wassenaar, Vincent Castel, Mauricio Posales, and Cees de Haan.“Livestock’s Long Shadow:Environmental Issues and Op?ons” Food and Agriculture of the United Na?ons. 26 Nov 2006 Web. dp://dp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/a0701e.pdf. 21 Feb 2011 Sullivan, Preston. “Applying the Principles of Sustainable Farming.” Na?onal Sustainable Agricultre Informa?on Service. May. 2003. 20 February 2011 <h>p://a>ra.ncat.org/fundamental.html>. United States. Dept. of Health. Annual Report: Pes?cide Incident Repor?ng and Tracking Review Panel. Washington, 2010. Web. < h>p://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/Pirt/2009 report.pdf>. Weise, Elizabeth. "Farmed Fish Swim to the Fore; how we Handle Aquaculture may Determine the Future of the Planet." USA Today January 18 Thursday 2007LIFE; Pg. 7D. Web. •  Covers the soil throughout the year.
•  Mediates soil temperature, increases water
intake and storage, provides minerals such as
nitrogen and prevents erosion. (Sullivan 8)
Sarah
Sanborn
Bess Pezzini
Andrew
Lutton
Pictures Meat: Cow feedlot: Harnik, Na?. (2001) Retrieved February 21, 2011, from: h>p://
apimages.ap.org/Search.aspx?st=k&remem=x&kw=feedlot
+ca>le&intv=None&shgroup=-­‐10&sh=14 Livestock emissions: h>p://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wcKKG-­‐CauDc/S-­‐GpGHCFwVI/
AAAAAAAAAkA/dELpb0nSxJU/s1600/Greenhouse_Gas_Diagram.jpg Fisheries: Farm fishery: h>p://www.powered-­‐by-­‐produce.com/wp-­‐content/uploads/2010/07/
fishfarm1.jpg Agriculture: Cover Crop: h>p://kolya.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/
coaver_crop_and_brassicas.jpg Crop rota?on: h>p://nogmoseedbank.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/crop-­‐rota?on.jpg Compost cycle. h>p://www.freediyhomeimprovement.com/wp-­‐content/uploads/
2010/07/How-­‐Compos?ng-­‐Works.jpg