Memorandum submitted by Compassion In
World Farming
Compassion In World Farming (CIWF) believes
that animal agriculture should aim to be both sustainable and
humane. On this basis, we believe that industrial animal farming
should be discouraged worldwide on the grounds that it is inherently
unsustainable and imposes serious health and welfare problems
on animals.
A recent World Bank Report (Livestock Development:
Implications for Rural Poverty, the Environment and Global Food
Security, published 30 November 2001) recognises many of our
concerns; the report stresses that as the livestock sector undergoes
rapid growth "there is a significant danger that the poor
are being crowded out, the environment eroded and global food
security and safety compromised". The report concludes that
the World Bank should "avoid funding large-scale commercial,
grain-fed feedlot systems and industrial milk, pork and poultry
production except to improve the public good areas of environment
and food safety".
CIWF welcomes these recommendations, though
we believe that industrial animal agriculture is never likely
to improve the environment or food safety (see below for CIWF's
more detailed analysis on the main advantages of sustainable and
humane farming in comparison with industrial animal production).
CIWF urges the UK Government to use it's position
and influence as a major shareholder within the World Bank to
ensure that all grants, loans, technical assistance and capacity
building programmes given by the Bank for animal agriculture programmes
are humane and sustainable rather than industrial; and to ensure
that this welcome policy set out in the report is observed by
and informs the work of all institutions within the World Bank
group.
The main advantages of sustainable and humane
farming over industrial animal agriculture are:
— it safeguards small-holder farmers,
whereas industrial animal farming undermines rural livelihoods.
When large industrial animal farms are introduced into rural
areas, nearby small-scale farmers often cannot compete and are
driven out of business and off the land, thereby undermining rural
jobs and livelihoods.
In contrast to this, sustainable, humane animal
farming allows small-scale farmers to provide food for themselves
and their families, and to earn additional income through selling
produce to nearby markets and urban areas. As regards exports,
small farmers could actually gain competitive advantage by developing
their extensive production systems to meet market requirements
in the North for quality produce.
— it safeguards rural employment
and indeed creates extra jobs. Industrial agriculture is capital-intensive
and needs relatively little labour. Extensive or mixed farming,
however, provides more work, so benefiting developing countries
rich in labour.
— industrial animal production leads
to environmental pollution and over-use of scarce water resources.
Industrially farmed animals need to be given large amounts
of protein-rich feed. This feed is itself often produced intensively,
with the aid of artificial fertilisers, herbicides and insecticides,
all of which are damaging pollutants. Moreover, scarce resources
of water are used by intensive crop production for animal feed,
a key factor in the global threat posed by growing water shortages.
Although in reasonable amounts animal manure
can enrich the soil, the excess nutrients in the liquid slurry
emanating from industrial farms are a serious pollutant. Pigs
and poultry excrete about 65% of the nitrogen and 70% of the phosphate
in their feed. Nitrogen and phosphate are washed into rivers and
lakes and leach from the soil into groundwater, contaminating
sources of drinking water. Moreover, industrial animal farming
contributes up to 10% of global greenhouse gases, and therefore
plays a significant role in global warming.
— it provides greater food security
than industrial animal farming. In industrial systems, large
amounts of grain are needed to feed the animals. Indeed, one-fifth
of the world's arable land is used to grow cereals for animal
feed. In general, several kilos of human edible grain are needed
to produce one kilo of meat. As a result, a hectare of land can
feed more people if it is used to grow cereals for human consumption,
rather than as feed for animals whose meat is then consumed by
people. In addition, the large increase in global feed requirements
which will arise from a shift to industrial animal production
could increase the price of grain, so putting it even further
out of reach for poor people. Moreover, while industrial farming
may increase the amount of livestock products, it does not give
the poor better access to them. The poor cannot afford industrially
produced meat and eggs which in developing countries are targeted
at (i) affluent urban consumers and (ii) export markets.
— industrial livestock production
compromises human health and food safety. High levels of consumption
of animal products are associated with an increased incidence
of heart disease, certain common cancers, diabetes and obesity.
Moreover, the overcrowded, often unhygienic environment of the
industrial farm allows food-borne disease to thrive. Conditions
in industrial farms are so unhygienic that animals and poultry
are routinely dosed with antibiotics to ward off the diseases
which otherwise would spread rapidly in the overcrowded sheds.
This misuse of antibiotics in industrial farming has led to the
emergence of bacteria which are resistant to some of the antibiotics
used to treat serious human illnesses.
— industrial farming undermines
genetic diversity. The greatest threat to genetic diversity
in developing countries is the import of breeds from developed
countries, which leads to cross breeding with, or even replacement
of, local breeds. Such local breeds are essential for sustainable
husbandry as they often have strong genetic resistance to local
diseases and parasites and the ability to adapt to drought and
other climatic extremes.
— industrial farming imposes serious
welfare problems on animals. The World Bank report referred
to above concludes that "unbridled development of industrial
production systems—high-density batteries for broilers and
layers and sow tethering for intensive pig production—is
likely to induce the use of livestock rearing techniques unfriendly
to animals". The report points out that these practices are
being phased out in the European Union over the next decade and
that they will become an increasingly important issue in international
development support and international trade.
October 2003
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