Focus on . . . Livestock trends
No doubt every generation believes it is witnessing changes more profound than those experienced by preceding generations. Inevitably the perspective of history is distorted for the viewer standing at one end of it. But, looking at the changes in lifestyle and attitudes made possible by today's global information exchange, it is not surprising that trends in food production, particularly of livestock, seem to have special significance. More people than ever before want to eat meat and other livestock products, and yet the resources upon which to raise them have never been under so much pressure - real or perceived. This is why, in this edition of New Agriculturist, we focus on trends in livestock production.
"Veg or non-veg?" The Indian flight attendant waits patiently while the European disentangles the meaning from this simple question for, to him, it seems to be the wrong way round. A diet without meat is entirely right and proper for countless millions of people but how soon will it be before...
"In at one end and out at the other" crudely sums up two major problems associated with intensive livestock production, especially if near to urban centres. Huge quantities of feed oilseeds and grain, grown in rural areas, are transferred between and across...
The livestock revolution - devouring the planet?
Rising affluence, particularly in some developing countries where average real incomes have doubled since the early 1960s, means that more people can afford the high-value protein that livestock products offer. As a result...
A practical, profitable route out of poverty?
What impact will the current trends in livestock production have upon the rural poor? Livestock ownership currently supports or sustains the livelihoods of an estimated 700 million rural poor. In marginal areas, ownership of livestock is...
The increasing, and increasingly intensive production of livestock in developing countries, termed the 'Livestock Revolution', will surely raise the profile of animal welfare, in much the same way that...
Very bumpy playing fields and audacious dumping should, under the avowed intentions of the WTO, belong to the past. For livestock producers in developing countries, particularly some within the ACP group, the history of trade with the EU has...
Restocking: What's in store for the future?
Afghanistan, a country troubled with conflict and drought, looks barren in recent news footage. But it is not just the variety of traditional crops and fruits that are no longer present, livestock too have been severely depleted and restocking...
