What's feeding our food? - The environmental and social impacts of the livestock sector
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istock
What’s feeding our food?
The environmental and social impacts of the livestock sector
Friends of the Earth December 2008
1
Indoor broiler farm for meat production
“Livestock’s contribution
to environmental problems
is on a massive scale.”
UN Food and Agriculture Organisation 2006
GettyImages
2
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 4
1. IMPACTS OF THE LIVESTOCK SECTOR 6
SOY’S ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 8
Agricultural expansion in Latin America 9
Land use change 10
Local environmental impacts 14
LIVESTOCK FARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE 15
IMPACTS ON RURAL COMMUNITIES 17
Unemployment and land ownership 17
Slavery 17
Health impacts of pesticides 18
Food insecurity 18
LIVESTOCK AND HEALTH 19
2. WHAT’S DRIVING LIVESTOCK EXPANSION? 20
Growing consumption 20
Soy and animal feed 20
Exporting soy to Europe 21
Soy and animal feed in the UK 22
Poultry farming 22
Pork production 23
Dairy farming 24
The role of agribusiness 24
Global finance 24
Agricultural policy and soy 26
3. SOLUTIONS 28
REFERENCES 32
3INTRODUCTION The global food supply is under Beef raised on cattle ranches in highly Growth in demand for livestock increasing scrutiny. Climate change, biodiverse areas of the Amazon, Cerrado products is set to continue, leading to the volatility in the cost of staple foods such grasslands and Chaco habitats is conversion of more and more land for as rice and grain, and fluctuations in oil shipped to Europe and Britain to put meat crops and grazing, further exacerbating prices have exposed vulnerabilities in a on our plates. Increasing quantities of the associated impacts. The developing system that is failing to feed some of the chicken and pork are also being imported. biofuels market adds to the demand for poorest people around the world. As forests and other precious wildlife land. Our globalised food system is failing habitats are destroyed to make way for s This report gives a detailed account fundamentally. It requires ever-growing crops for animal feed and pasture for of the environmental and social quantities of land, water, energy and grazing, indigenous people also lose their impacts of the current system of chemical inputs to produce the food we territories. Rural communities are being producing meat and animal products, eat. This is particularly true of intensive forced off their land, and small scale in particular from the UK’s reliance livestock production. farmers have nowhere to grow the food on imported soy for animal feed. Animals in factory farms in the UK and they need for their families. Europe have been bred to require high Latin America is a major player in the s It uncovers the interdependence levels of protein to fuel fast growth and livestock market. Brazil is responsible between intensive livestock farming high yields of meat, dairy and eggs. This for almost a third of global beef exports in the UK and Europe and soy industry is increasingly global. Even and 40 per cent of exported chicken.3 production in Latin America, and though bacon, burgers, milk and cheese The country is also the second largest investigates the role of agribusiness, may be produced in the UK, most will exporter of soy after the USA, followed global finance and agricultural have come from animals fed on crops by Argentina4 and Paraguay. The vast policies in driving this system. grown on the other side of the world - majority of soy grown worldwide is used many of the damaging impacts of mass for animal feed. s It makes the case for an urgent production are being exported. This global system is not working for overhaul of the current model, and According to the UN’s Food and farmers in the UK. With commodity price proposes policy changes in the Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the rises, farmers have seen the cost of UK and Europe to help create a livestock sector “emerges as one of the animal feed and other inputs increase. sustainable and equitable livestock top two or three most serious contributors The price of fertiliser grew by 156 per system for farmers, consumers and to the most serious environmental cent in the last year.5 The cost of chicken the environment. problems, at every scale from local to feed has risen by £80/tonne in the same global”.1 In fact it is responsible for 18 period.6 The UK pork sector has already per cent of global greenhouse gas seen its market share shrink as a result,7 emissions.2 and pig farmers have been hit by volatile Great swathes of Latin America have feed costs. been given over to growing soy, which is shipped around the world to be used in animal feed as cheap protein for chicken, pigs and cattle. 4
Photolibrary
Cattle ranch in Mexico
51 IMPACTS OF THE LIVESTOCK SECTOR
Livestock uses 70 per cent of all available
agricultural land, and uses 8 per cent of the
global human water supply.
Global intensive livestock production Fattening a cow Land conversion
has a high environmental price. Rearing 1 kg of intensively-reared beef requires Land for grazing covers more than a
animals for food uses large areas of up to 10 kg of animal feed11 and 15,500 quarter of the planet’s available ice-
agricultural land, vast quantities of water litres of water.12 It produces as much free surface.15 An average of 6 million
and significant amounts of energy. It pollution as driving for three hours while hectares of forest – an area twice the
is a cause of deforestation and land leaving the lights switched on at home.13 size of Belgium – and 7 million hectares
use change, generating greenhouse of other land have been converted to
gas emissions and destroying valuable The global spread of intensive farming agriculture every year for the last 40
carbon sinks and wildlife habitat. The has led to a major increase in the use years.16
livestock industry is also a significant of high protein animal feeds, comprising
source of pollution.8 cereals and vegetable proteins such as This massive demand for land has
Livestock already uses 70 per cent of soy. In fact, 97 per cent of the soymeal been heightened by the growing biofuel
all available agricultural land, and uses produced worldwide is used for animal market – soy is used to make biodiesel,
8 per cent of the global human water feed, and with demand set to double while sugarcane is the main source
supply.9 by 2050, more and more land is being of ethanol. Government figures show
Livestock’s contribution to climate turned over to feeding livestock.14 that soy, partially sourced from Brazil,17
change is greater than that of transport.10 was the main source of biodiesel in
It is responsible for 18 per cent of global the UK following the introduction of the
greenhouse gas emissions – including 9 Renewable Fuel Obligation (April - May
per cent of anthropogenic global carbon 2008).
dioxide (CO2) emissions and 37 per cent Latin America’s growing agro-industry
of anthropogenic methane. has led to new roads and waterways
being built to transport soy, increasing
access to remote areas, often at
the expense of natural habitats and
communities.
6“Livestock impacts on ecosystem goods and services are
largely negative, through impacts such as deforestation nutrient
overloading, greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient depletion of
grazing areas, dryland degradation from overgrazing, dust
formation, and bush encroachment.”
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005
GettyImages
Cattle ranching in Latin America
Cattle ranching is big business in Brazil.
With 204 million cattle, the country is
the world’s largest exporter of beef,
producing 7.6 million tonnes in 2003.18
Exports of leather goods, predominantly
shoes, are also growing.
Brazilian beef cattle are almost entirely
fed on pasture, with some 86 per cent
of Brazilian agricultural land used for
grazing.19 This recent expansion has
been primarily on forest land which has
been cleared to make way for pasture.20
Land in the Amazon is cheap and
provides good quality pasture.
Cattle ranching in Mato Grosso
traditionally takes place on the Cerrado
(savannah) grasslands. But this land is
increasingly being converted to arable
land for soy, pushing cattle ranchers into
the forest, which provides nutrient-rich
soil and high quality pasture for cattle
rearing.21
Brazilian beef accounts for 13 per cent of
the UK’s total beef imports or 4 per cent
of all beef consumed in the UK.22
Pastureland that has been burnt for cattle
ranching in the Amazon rainforest
71 IMPACTS OF THE LIVESTOCK SECTOR
SOY’S ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Changes in the way that land is used Agricultural expansion
affects biodiversity as plants and animals in Latin America
lose their natural habitats. Such changes Soy production in Latin America has
also release huge quantities of carbon more than doubled in the last 15 years.
dioxide, contributing to climate change.23 This rapid expansion is driving the
Land use change – from forest to conversion of forests and grasslands to
farmland – also affects the water cycle. cropland and grazing, devastating vast
Stripped of its vegetation, the soil holds areas of wildlife habitat with wide-ranging
less water and is more vulnerable to effects on the global environment. It
erosion as it drains away.24 is estimated that a further 100 million
Soy cultivation itself uses fertilisers hectares of pasture could be converted
and pesticides that pollute the soil and for crop land in Brazil alone.26 Cattle
ground water.25 Genetically modified (GM) farmers, displaced by the expansion of
soy requires an even more intensive soy, have sought out new land, burning
chemical regime – almost all soy grown undergrowth to clear areas that were
in Argentina and Paraguay is GM. once covered by forest.
8Corbis
Soy expansion has had dramatic effects
on rural life, as well as impacting on other
areas of agriculture. Many small-scale
farmers have been priced off their land
or forced to sell to bigger producers,
losing their homes and their livelihoods.
Rural unemployment has increased as
large scale soy farms need little labour.27
As a result, many rural labourers have
migrated to the cities to look for work.28
Intensive livestock farms in Europe are
a major destination for Latin American
soy exports. Agricultural policies and
trade agreements with the United States
mean that Europe grows few crops for
animal protein and now depends on
imports for animal feed.29
Soybeans are harvested at Fartura Farm, in Mato Grosso state, Brazil – March 2008
91 IMPACTS OF THE LIVESTOCK SECTOR
Land use change Paraguay Paraguay is the fifth largest Brazil Brazil is the second largest global
Argentina Soybean production covers producer of soy and the fourth largest producer of soybeans after the United
around half of Argentina’s cultivated land exporter globally. The country has seen States, followed by Argentina and then
and is centred in the states of Cordoba, a rapid expansion in recent years, with Paraguay.33 Production is increasing in
Santa Fe and Buenos Aires. Expansion nearly 2.5 million hectares planted with all three countries, with a 170 per cent
is spreading into the heavily forested soy in 2006/7.32 increase in Brazil in the last 15 years.
northern states such as Salta and The Atlantic Forest extends into Within Brazil, soy production is
Santiago del Estero – around 415,000 Paraguay’s high altitude grasslands. Only concentrated in the state of Mato Grosso
hectares of forest were cleared in Salta 2 per cent of the country’s original forest (27 per cent), Paraná (22 per cent), Rio
between 2002 and 2006.30 area remains, in increasingly isolated Grande do Sul (15 per cent) and Mato
Soy is also eating into the rich fragments, due to clear cutting to make Grosso do Sul (12 per cent).34
biodiversity of the sub-humid Chaco- way for agriculture. Recent expansion has been
Yungas area, leading to the destruction Displaced cattle farmers and, concentrated in Mato Grosso, Paraná
of habitat and rural settlements. Large- increasingly, soy plantations are moving and Goiás – with half of the growth in
scale plantations are effectively forcing into the Chaco. This diverse habitat Mato Grosso and Goiás at the expense
small scale farmers off their land. and important ecosystem includes dry of natural habitat.35
According to government figures a total savannah and wet forest and extends Mato Grosso forms part of the Amazon
of 250,000 hectares of forest are cleared across large parts of Paraguay, Bolivia region, with forest covering more than
annually, with 80 per cent of this making and Central and Northern Argentina. half of its total land area. Cerrado
way for soy and cattle farming in the Agri-business giant Cargill’s planned (savannah) covers most of the remaining
Chaco.31 A further 4.9 million hectares mega port facility on the River Paraguay territory. More than half of Brazil’s soy
are vulnerable to soy conversion by 2020. threatens to drive further expansion of production is in the centre and south of
The Atlantic Forest, which runs along soy into the region. the state on land that was once covered
the eastern coast of Brazil and inland to by Cerrado. A study of the displacement
Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay, has impacts of soy expansion in Mato Grosso
also suffered from soy expansion which found that for every four hectares of soy
has destroyed unique habitat and put planted, five hectares of natural habitat
rare species at risk. were destroyed.36
Around 92 per cent of the Atlantic
Forest’s amphibians are unique to the area.
10BRAZIL
BRASILIA
BOLIVIA
SAO PAULO
ASUNCION
URUGUAY Remaining Atlantic Forest
BUENOS Original Atlantic Forest
AIRES
Biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest
The Atlantic Rainforest is one of the
world’s most biodiverse ecosystems,
classified as a biodiversity hotspot. It
extends from Brazil’s Atlantic coast,
inland to Paraguay and into Argentina.37
It now covers less than 10 per cent of its
original area.
The rainforest is home to around 8,000
unique plant species and more than 20
critically endangered species, including
the eskimo curlew, white-collared kite,
the black-faced lion tamarin and the
leatherback and hawksbill sea turtles.38
Approximately 92 per cent of the forest’s
amphibians are unique to the area.
There are fears that soy expansion in the
Atlantic Forest could destroy another 1.5
million hectares by 2020.39
The Atlantic Forest boasts 20,000 plant
species. Yet less than 10 per cent of the
forest remains.
Simon Rawles/Friends of the Earth
Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation International
111 IMPACTS OF THE LIVESTOCK SECTOR
Biodiversity in the Amazon It is estimated that a further 9.6 million Biodiversity in the Cerrado
The Amazon rainforest is the world’s hectares of Cerrado could be lost to soy The Cerrado is one of the largest and
largest tropical forest extending across expansion by 2020.46 most biodiverse savannah areas in
Brazil, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, By 2005 over 6 million hectares had the world covering an area the size of
Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and been converted to soy within the legal Western Europe. Its unique habitat is
French Guiana.40 The Amazon is one boundaries of the Amazon.47 Vast areas made up of large stretches of grassland,
of the world’s most biodiverse regions of the Amazon have also been cleared scrub and areas of woodland which run
comprising a mosaic of ecosystems and to raise cattle,48 causing much greater alongside river banks.
vegetation types including rainforests, indirect impacts due to ranching and It is internationally recognised as a
seasonal and deciduous forests. slash and burn farmers. biodiversity hotspot – an area that is
It is home to almost a third of the world’s The recent soy price boom has also home to a large number of unique
known species,41 with more than 1,300 fuelled an increase in deforestation, species, and which has already lost more
species of bird alone. These include the with more than 3,000 square miles of than 70 per cent of its original natural
toucan, the harpy eagle and more than forest cleared between August 2007 and vegetation.52
300 species of hummingbirds. There are August 2008 alone.49 If current trends The Cerrado is home to 40 per cent of
3,000 fishes42 and over 100,000 types of continue, cattle ranchers and soy farmers Brazil’s mammals,53 reptiles and fish,
invertebrates43. Many of these species alone will destroy 40 per cent of Amazon including a number of endangered
are only found in Brazil, including the rainforest by 2050.50 species, such as the giant armadillo, the
critically endangered black-faced lion Brazil’s forests play a crucial role giant otter and the hyacinth macaw.54 It
tamarin, the buffy-headed marmoset and in the fight against dangerous climate also provides a habitat for at risk species
the maned three-toed sloth.44 change, storing carbon dioxide which such as jaguars, maned wolves and
The forest is also home to around 220 is released when the forest is cleared. ocelots.
groups of indigenous people who have Continuing deforestation at the present
lived in the Amazon for thousands of rate will make it all but impossible to
years.45 bring greenhouse gas emissions under
control.51
12PA photos
If current trends continue, cattle ranchers
and soy farmers alone will destroy 40 per
cent of Amazon rainforest by 2050.
Bolivia Bolivia is not a major global Uruguay The soy industry is moving EU efforts to tackle deforestation
exporter of soy, but plantations have into Uruguay, where plantations are The European Union (EU) has put
expanded into the country as a result concentrated primarily on the west forward proposals to stop global
of state and World Bank funding. Soy coast – a number of these are owned by deforestation by 2030 and to halve
covered 950,000 hectares in 200655 Argentine soy farmers who are attracted tropical deforestation by 2020.59
and plantations are now moving into by Uruguay’s tax regime. The country The EU believes that a Global Forest
the Chiquitano forest region, which has produced 460,000 tonnes of soy beans Carbon Mechanism, operated as part
been described as one of the largest in 2005.57 of the United Nations Framework
remaining tracts of “relatively undisturbed As more and more land is converted to Convention on Climate Change’s
tall dry forest in the Neotropics, if not the soy, local food production is reduced. As (UNFCCC) mitigation measures, will
entire world.”56 The area provides habitat plantations move into the Sauce region in help reduce deforestation by providing a
to vulnerable species including the jaguar, which fruit and vegetables are grown for financial reward for retaining forests.
maned wolf, ocelot and spider monkey. the capital, organic farmers and market It also wants European timber suppliers
gardeners are concerned about pollution to seek guarantees that the timber they
from the soy fields and the effects of GM sell has not been sourced illegally. It has
soy.58 proposed further studies of the links
between deforestation and the imports of
non-timber products like soy.
Soy field in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
131 IMPACTS OF THE LIVESTOCK SECTOR
The UK uses 1.43 billion cubic metres of
Brazilian water a year through imported soy.
WWF UK Water Footprint 2008
Local environmental impacts Pesticide pollution
Damaging soil Much of the soy in Latin America is
Clare Oxborrow/Friends of the Earth
The soil on soy plantations is exposed to grown from Monsanto’s Roundup
wind and rain and therefore vulnerable to Ready genetically modified (GM) seed,
erosion. Brazil loses 55 million tonnes of prompting growers to use even more
soil through erosion each year. As much intensive farming methods. Roundup
as 8 tonnes per hectare is lost in the soy Ready soy is genetically modified
fields of the Chaco. Intensive farming to tolerate Monsanto’s Roundup
methods deplete the soil’s nutrients and (glyphosate) herbicide, but reliance on
require fertiliser to compensate.60 this technology has led to the emergence
of herbicide-tolerant weeds. As a result,
Water use and water pollution increased quantities of Roundup, as well
Soy plantations need water and can be as older and more damaging herbicides
irrigated to boost yields. Irrigated crops like 2,4-D and Paraquat, have to be
can even provide three rather than two used.66
harvests a year.61 Recent dry years in GM soy accounts for 98 per cent of
Paraguay and Brazil have led to smaller the soy harvest for Argentina and 90 per
than expected harvests.62 Although Brazil cent in Paraguay. GM crops have been
is rich in terms of its water supply, 40 introduced more slowly in Brazil and
million Brazilian families do not have some restrictions exist in the Amazon
access to supplies of clean drinking region. It is estimated that around 50 per
water63 and parts of the country have cent of the Brazilian crop is still non-
suffered severe drought in recent years. GM.67
Water supplies in the soy-producing Glyphosate has become a major
areas are contaminated with the source of pollution which contaminates
chemicals used by soy growers. Large surface water and aquifers, threatens
quantities of mineral fertilisers are human health and kills other vegetation.
Young soy plants in a field in Paraguay needed to compensate for the degraded It is sprayed onto crops from huge
soil, causing excess nutrients to build up spraying tractors or from the air. Farmers
in the soil and in the water, alongside a in neighbouring fields report that the
cocktail of pesticide residues.64 spraying destroys their crops and some
The FAO estimates that 7 per cent of have reported poisoned livestock.
global human water use is for growing Few insects or other wildlife live on soy
feed crops for livestock.65 plantations, making the plants vulnerable
to pests and increasingly reliant on
pesticides.68
In Paraguay, laws requiring soy farmers
to plant buffer zones of native vegetation
around fields to help protect neighbouring
communities are routinely flouted. If any
trees are planted at all, they tend to be
14LIVESTOCK FARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE
istock
non-native eucalyptus or pine trees.
The livestock sector is a huge contributor
to climate change, generating significant
emissions of carbon dioxide, methane
and nitrous oxide throughout the
production process.
The conversion of forest and grassland
to cropland emits stored carbon and
reduces the global capacity for absorbing
carbon dioxide. Globally, this land-use
change set in motion by livestock farming
leads to the release of 2.4 billion tonnes
of carbon dioxide a year – equivalent to
around 6 per cent of global greenhouse
emissions.69
The manufacture of animal feed is also
a major source of emissions through
fertiliser production and from processing.
Soy is a particularly energy-intensive
crop because of the process used to
extract oil from the bean.70
Methane emissions from livestock
Land-use change contribute around 6 per cent of global
greenhouse gas emissions.71 Cows,
set in motion by sheep and goats emit methane
through the digestive process (enteric
livestock farming fermentation), while manure is also high
in methane.
leads to the release As meat and dairy consumption
increases, methane emissions are
of 2.4 billion tonnes predicted to rise by up to 60 per cent by
2030.72
of carbon dioxide Livestock also generates nitrous oxide Mature rainforest
emissions from fertilisers, crop waste
a year. and the intensive storage systems used
for animal waste. This contributes around
FAO, 2006 6 per cent to total greenhouse gas
emissions.73
151 IMPACTS OF THE LIVESTOCK SECTOR
Greenhouse gas emissions from soy Energy use
Livestock is responsible for 18 per cent Energy use continues at practically every
of global greenhouse gas emissions.74 step of the livestock chain, from feed
The production of animal feed from soy crop to the fridge. Rearing, slaughter,
generates greenhouse gas emissions processing and storage all require energy,
both at the cultivation and the processing as does the transport involved at each
stage. stage.78 Once meat has been eaten, its
Soy is a nitrogen-fixing plant, which packaging and the uneaten elements
means it stabilises nitrogen in the are transported and treated, generating
soil. But after harvest, nitrogen can be further CO2, methane and nitrous oxide.
released, producing nitrous oxide (N2O)
as the plants rot in the soil. Argentina In the UK, 18 per cent of greenhouse gas
lists soy as a source of greenhouse emissions come from food production
gas emissions in its report to the United and consumption.79
Nations Framework Convention on Emissions from agriculture have
Climate Change75 after studies showed stabilised within Europe, mainly as a
that plantations increase the country’s result of reduced fertiliser use. But with
emissions of N2O. large quantities of feed crops and food
Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse now imported from Latin America, much
gas, but nitrogen also plays a crucial of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions
role in the Earth’s living systems through from livestock have effectively been
the nitrogen cycle. Nothing can grow exported rather than reduced.
without nitrogen but too much stimulates A recent study by the Tyndall
excessive growth, which poisons water Centre for Climate Change Research
courses through eutrophication.76 highlighted how levels of deforestation
Once soybeans have been harvested and greenhouse gas emissions from
they are processed to extract the soy oil food production affect our potential to
and the soybean meal. This is an energy- meet carbon reduction targets elsewhere
intensive chemical process that was in the economy. The study found that
found to be the most significant source of even if emissions from food production
CO2 emissions77 during a study of energy were halved by 2050, and if 70 to 80 per
use in Minnesota, United States. cent of the current forest carbon was
preserved, global emissions from other
sectors would need to peak by 2015 and
then decrease by up to 6.5 per cent a
year if there was to be any chance of
avoiding dangerous climate change by
limiting the temperature rise to 2˚C.80
Placio Duarte, from Organización
Campesina del Norte, stands in his
brother’s small farm next to an exposed
soy field in the state of Concepcion,
Paraguay.
16Three out of four soy farms in Paraguay are
owned by foreign landowners.
IMPACTS ON RURAL COMMUNITIES
Unemployment and land profits. Indigenous communities, whose
ownership traditional land rights are not always
The majority of soy plantations are owned recognised or respected, have seen their
by large landowners and multinational lands and way of live destroyed by the
companies and can cover up to 50,000 spread of soy.
hectares.81 Large-scale soy production The growing demand for land has
is highly mechanised and very profitable. led to conflicts across the soy-growing
The planting and harvesting is carried region, with reports of violent attacks on
out by machines, meaning few people rural communities. A large number of
are employed – a mechanised farm has communities have been forcibly evicted
an average of one employee per 200 from their homes and their houses burnt,
hectares.82 often in the middle of the night.86 The
This has had a dramatic impact on rural Paraguayan police and security forces
populations in soy-growing areas. Small have been accused of operating death
landowners, who find soy production squads, with at least 18 rural leaders
is not viable on a small scale, are killed.87
displaced by the bigger producers, while Paraguay’s new president, Fernando
campesinos (people who live and work Lugo, elected in 2008, has promised
in the countryside) are left unemployed. support for small farmers through land
Many have been forced off their land and reform, but will have to fight his way
thousands of others have left rural areas through a corrupt system to achieve
to look for work in the cities. this.88
Around 80 per cent of Paraguay’s soy
is destined for export83 due to the export- Slavery
orientated agriculture model introduced Soy producers in Brazil have been found
in the country in the 1960s. This has to use slave labour to clear forest land
encouraged companies to develop large- to make way for soy plantations. In 2004,
scale soy farms, often ignoring the rights the government intervened and found
of the rural poor. 1,012 slaves on farms in Mato Grasso,
There are around 1.5 million small some of whom were children.89
farmers in Paraguay, yet 70 per cent of Workers clearing the land are paid
the land is owned by just 2 per cent of minimal wages and, in some cases, they
the country’s landowners.84 The vast are forced to work for free at gunpoint
majority of the rural population does not in return for food provided by the
own land and lives in extreme poverty. companies. Anyone trying to escape is
Only 15 per cent of this population has shot or punished. Hundreds of reports
Clare Oxborrow / Friends of the Earth
access to safe drinking water and 42 per of slavery at soy companies are being
cent to medical care.85 investigated by the Brazilian Ministry of
Many soy developers in Paraguay Labour.90
are from abroad, particularly Brazil,
attracted by cheap land prices and easy
17A crop-spraying aeroplane showers a
field with pesticides.
Gerd Ludwig / Panos Pictures
Health impacts of pesticides Pesticide poisoning in Argentina93 Food insecurity
Once the plantations have been Villagers in Colonia Loma Senés, a small Across the region, the spread of soy
established, surrounding communities farming community in Formosa Province, has reduced the number of small farms
are at risk from the pesticides and Argentina, were the victims of repeated – traditionally the source of food for the
herbicides mechanically sprayed on the sprayings from the long-armed tractors local community, as well as changing
soy crops. In the Brazilian state of Piauí used to spray soy, known as mosquitoes. farming patterns on larger farms.
there were 65 reports of poisoning during The tractors were spraying glyphosate In Argentina, traditional farming
2005, 15 of which were fatal.91 and 2,4-D. methods used until the 1990s saw
In February 2003, at least 23 farming farmers rotating maize, wheat and
Killed by pesticides in Paraguay families suffered after a northerly wind soybeans to allow the soil to recover, but
In 2003, Silvino Talavera, an 11-year- directed a cloud of pesticides towards this method of farming has now virtually
old boy in Paraguay, died after a tractor their fields. The chemicals destroyed disappeared.95 The number of dairy
spraying chemicals on a soy field failed to most of their crops, leaving the plants farms also halved between 1988 and
see him in its path. His two sisters were burnt. Chickens in a neighbouring barn 2003, while production of corn, rice, oats
also hospitalised, but survived. were poisoned and died. People suffered and beans has decreased substantially.96
Supported by CONAMURI, a peasant vomiting, nausea, nose bleeds, breathing The result has been an increase in food
and indigenous women’s organisation, difficulties and problems with their eyes. insecurity. Figures show that between
the boy’s mother took legal action to The damage left the communities without 1996 and 2003 the number of people
seek justice for the murder of her son. enough food to feed themselves, let in Argentina unable to access a “basic
As a result, the family were repeatedly alone sell at market. When the authorities nutrition basket” rose from 3.7 million
threatened, their animals killed and checked water supplies, they found they to 8.7 million. Urban poverty and high
farmland sabotaged. were contaminated with pesticides. unemployment have been exacerbated
Silvino’s older brother, a member of the No official action was taken to stop the by the loss of rural employment due to
National Peasant Movement in Paraguay, spraying so the community resorted to the expansion of soy.97
was murdered. legal action, asking for an injunction. The
Silvino’s older sister suffered numerous judge granted a six-month ban, which
health problems following the pesticide was extended for a further three months,
incident and two years ago gave birth to but in September 2003 the farm resumed
a baby who was diagnosed as suffering spraying.94
from birth defect hydrocephalus.
In November 2006, the two landowners Communities living near soy plantations
responsible for the spraying were finally report ongoing health problems including
sentenced to two years in jail, after their continuous headaches, skin rashes,
appeal was turned down by the Supreme stomach problems, increased rates
Court.92 of miscarriage and babies born with
malformations.
18Skinned pigs hanging in a slaughterhouse
Photolibrary
LIVESTOCK AND HEALTH
Meat and dairy products are considered problems, including an increased risk of
an important source of protein in the kidney problems. A diet rich in animal
human diet, and provide a range of protein also tends to have high levels of
minerals and vitamins including iron, zinc animal fats, which in excess increases
and vitamin A. But the high levels of the risk of heart disease and stroke.
consumption of livestock products in the There is also evidence of a link
industrialised world have been clearly between the consumption of meat,
linked to a number of health problems, particularly red meat, and some cancers.
particularly heart disease, stroke and The World Health Organisation (WHO)
certain cancers. estimates that 30 per cent of cancers
Levels of meat and dairy consumption in the Western developed world (and
vary significantly between different 20 per cent in developing countries) are
countries, rural and urban areas, and caused by dietary factors.102 Cancer is
income groups. responsible for 7.1 million deaths globally
Consumption generally rises as each year, and more than 20 million
incomes increase,98 and as more people people suffer from cancer worldwide.103
move into towns and cities giving them The World Cancer Research Fund
greater access to refrigerated produce. Expert Report warns that there is strong
From 1997 to 1999, average global evidence that red and processed meats
consumption for meat and dairy products cause bowel cancer and recommends
was 88 kg/year in industrialised countries limiting consumption of red meat and
compared to a global average of just 36 avoiding all processed meats.104 The
kg/year. In South Asia it was just 5 kg per report found that eating 150 g of
person per year.99 processed meat a day (equivalent to
Studies show the total protein three sausages) increases the risk of
requirement from plant or animal sources developing bowel cancer by 63 per
for a healthy 70 kg adult living in a cent.105
developed country is approximately 22 The WHO has also raised concerns
kg/year. The exact requirements depend about the health impacts of food
on the individual, age and level of produced intensively with high levels of
activity.100 fertilisers and pesticides, residues of
Most people living in the industrialised which can contaminate food supplies.
world, particularly meat eaters, Longer food chains mean longer
consume more than their daily protein storage and transport routes, creating a
requirement.101 greater risk of food products deteriorating
Eating more protein than the body and increased use of preservatives.106
needs has been linked to health
192 WHAT’S DRIVING LIVESTOCK EXPANSION?
Average meat consumption per person in 2002
2
52
125
80
74
39
Figure 2: Food and Agriculture Organization 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
of the United Nations (FAO) Meat consumption per capita (kilograms per person)
Growing consumption How soy is used
istock
The livestock sector is estimated to Soy is a legume which grows in North
double in size by 2050.107 As figure 2 and South America, Asia and Europe. It
shows, the United States consumes the produces beans containing high levels
most livestock produce globally, with of protein and oil. The harvested beans
each American eating an average 125 are processed to extract the oil (around
kg of meat a year – equivalent to more 20 per cent of the bean), which is used
than 400 sirloin steaks.108 Per capita meat for human consumption, animal feed and
consumption in Europe averaged 74 biofuels.
kg in 2002, while the UK consumed an The high protein soymeal left over after oil
average 80 kg/person109 – equivalent to extraction (around 75 per cent) is toasted
1,400 pork sausages – nearly 4 a day.110 and ground. Animal feed accounts for 97
What’s more, poultry consumption in the per cent of global soymeal production.
UK has doubled in the last 20 years.111
Demand is also growing in some Europe’s reliance on imported soy is a
developing countries as a result of legacy of European agricultural policy
rising incomes and a growing urban dating from the start of the Common
middle class112, although it is still well Agricultural Policy (CAP), which stated
Soy beans
below European and US levels. Meat that imports of animal feed were not
consumption in China has gone from subject to the same tariffs as other
an average of 20 kg per capita in 1980 agricultural produce. This meant it made
to 52kg today.113 Although in India meat sense for farmers to import feed, initially
consumption has grown by 40 per cent from the United States.
in the last 15 years, it is still 40 times lessIn 1992 the United States negotiated outbreak in the 1990s. The reduction in
than average consumption in the UK. a limit on European oilseed production availability of fishmeal due to increased
as part of the Blair House Agreement demand from aquaculture was also a
Soy and animal feed which led to even greater dependency on significant factor in the switch to soy.115
Soy contains high levels of vegetable imported soy.114 It is possible to grow alternative
protein and has a lower oil content A further significant increase in sources of protein within the UK and
then other seeds, making it suitable for demand for soy came after the ban Europe – including oilseed rape meal,
protein-rich feed meal. Soy accounts for on processed animal proteins in feed peas and beans – but the distorting effect
65 per cent of all proteins used for animal as a result of bovine spongiform of the CAP and trade barriers introduced
feed in Europe (40 per cent in the UK). encephalopathy (BSE) crisis. Meat and by the United States, mean that for many
bone meal were a common source of European countries it has been cheaper
protein for livestock feed prior to the and more convenient not to do so.
20Percentage of total soybean harvest exported to EU by Latin American countries 2006-07
7%
32%
25%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Figure 3: Food and Agriculture Organization Total soybean harvest (1000 tonnes)
of the United Nations (FAO) Soybean equivalent exported to EU (million tonnes)
Exporting soy to Europe
Flickr
The European Union (EU) relies on Brazil
for 64 per cent of soybean imports and
Argentina for 61 per cent of soymeal
imports.116 This demand accounts for
almost a third of Brazil’s total soybean
harvest – see figure 3.
In 2007 more than 78 per cent of UK
soybean imports and 34 per cent of
soymeal imports came from Brazil. A
further 47 per cent of the UK’s soymeal
was imported from Argentina. A small
percentage of soy was imported from
Paraguay,117 although as the country
exports most of its soy to Brazil and
Argentina, it is likely that the EU is
indirectly consuming significant amounts
of Paraguayan soy.
Europe’s land grab
The amount of land needed to produce
soy for the European market since the
ban on meat and bone meal in 1996 is
roughly equal to the area of deforestation
in the Brazilian rainforest since that
date.118
Sacks of soy beans for export
21Soy and animal feed in the UK Three million chickens each week Pork production
Soy is a particularly significant feed The UK’s poultry market is dominated The UK consumes approximately 803,000
ingredient for pigs and poultry where high by five companies who process more tonnes of pork and 488,000 tonnes of
protein levels are needed to achieve the than 50 per cent of the chicken meat bacon – that is 74 pork chops and 270
quick growth rates. Other sectors, such on sale.126 The biggest of these is bacon rashers132 – per person a year.
as dairy, are also reliant on soy to provide Grampian which was acquired by Dutch Around two thirds of this is reared in the
the protein element of the feed. Figure company VION in 2008.127 Grampian UK, with the remainder imported from
4 shows the relative quantities of soy processes 19 per cent of chickens sold Europe.
needed to produce the livestock products in the UK – almost 3 million chickens Cereal, oilseed (soy) and pulses are used
consumed in the UK. a week that are sold as fresh, frozen for pig feed. Amounts vary according to
and cooked products. Other big players the age of the pig and the price of cereal
Poultry production in the UK include Faccenda (2 million compared to soy – soy usually makes up
Poultry is the fastest growing sector in chickens a week), 2 Sisters Food Group 8 to10 per cent of the total feed.133
the global livestock industry119 and is the which supplies Tesco, Waitrose and
most frequently eaten meat in the UK. Marks &Spencer, the rapidly expanding
There are around 3,000 broiler farms Northern Irish company Moy Park, Poultry feed accounts
in the UK (raising chickens for meat) with and Sun Valley, which is owned by the
approximately 120 million broiler chickens US grain giant Cargill and supplies for more than half of
in production at any one time.120 McDonalds and Morrisons.128
High-protein diets have been all the soy used in the
developed to make birds grow faster, The Latin American poultry sector has
keeping the cost of the meat low. Most grown significantly in recent years and UK livestock sector.
chickens now reach their desired weight provides 10 per cent of UK imports.129
within about 40 days121, compared to 84 Poultry production is increasing in
days for organic birds.122 Cereals, soy Argentina and Chile, but Brazil is home
and legumes form the basis of most to the largest Latin American poultry
poultry feed,123 with soy making up industry and accounts for 40 per cent of
between 20 and 25 per cent.124 exports. Around half of Brazilian poultry
The UK poultry industry supplies is exported. Major markets include
around 88 per cent of the overall UK China, Japan, Russia and the European
market, but imports roughly twice the Union.130 The country’s top 10 companies
quantity of chicken that it exports.125 account for 85 per cent of poultry
exports. The same companies lead in
pork exports, feeding poultry and pigs on
soymeal to keep costs low.131
22Soybean equivalent required to produce a UK citizen’s average annual intake of meat
and dairy products (in kilograms per person)
5.6
1.7
6.7
22.2
12.5
1.9
3.8
Fig 4. Van 1.7 Gelder et al,
Soy Consumption for Feed and Fuel 0 5 10 15 20 25
in the European Union, October 2008 Kilograms per person
Broiler farm
istock
232 WHAT’S DRIVING LIVESTOCK EXPANSION?
Dairy production The role of agribusiness Global finance
Most of the UK’s dairy herd are Holstein- Corporations involved in the soy trade are The rapid expansion in soy production
Friesians which have been bred to yield key drivers of expansion and intensive has also been facilitated by multilateral
between 5 and 10,000 litres of milk a production. US companies Bunge and banks, including the World Bank and the
year.134 Soy is an important source of Cargill (the world’s largest commodity Inter-American Development Bank, who
protein in their diet – even during the trader) dominate the soy industry in are keen to encourage agriculture for
summer when grass is available, animal Brazil and Argentina, buying the beans export.
feed constitutes around half of their food. from farmers, running crushing mills and The International Financial Corporation
Varying quantities of soy are used in exporting soymeal and oil to the UK and (IFC), which is part of the World Bank,
dairy cattle feed, but estimates suggest it the rest of Europe. provides investment in the livestock
can make up as much as 10 per cent.135 Cargill also runs crushing mills for soy sector, and its approach has been
Each year we consume an average of and rape seed in the UK.139 Archer Daniel criticised by the World Bank’s former
118 litres of milk per person in the UK,136 Midland (ADM), Dreyfus and Brazilian environmental director Robert Goodland.
3.6kg of butter, and 10.2kg of cheese.137 company André Maggi are important According to Goodland, the IFC has
Most of this milk is sourced from UK players in Brazil. contributed $732 million (around £460
dairy farms, but significant proportions Trading companies, like Cargill and million) to damaging livestock projects
of butter, cheese and yoghurt are Bunge, have a crucial role in controlling in South America, Asia and Eastern
imported.138 the whole soy production process Europe, of which $36.6 million (around
because farmers depend on them to £23 million) would have come from British
provide credit and supplies of fertiliser tax payers.140
and pesticides. These companies also One of these projects involved a $90
manage the logistics, arranging storage, million loan to Bertin Ltda, one of Brazil’s
transport and processing. leading beef and leather producers, to
Although the largest public UK fund the expansion of the Bertin Amazon
companies are required to report on their Cattle Ranching project, which poses a
environmental and social impacts under recognised risk of deforestation in the
the Companies Act 2006, there are no Amazon. The IFC funding enabled the
standards in place that dictate how they project to secure $250 million (around
should report and few actually provide £158 million) in further loans from the
comprehensive information on their Inter-American Development Bank.
activities.
24UK taxpayers’ money is also being Dominating the soy feed chain Soy certification
used to finance intensive livestock US commodity trader Cargill owns one Soy certification schemes are
production through the European Bank of the UK’s main chicken processing increasingly being proposed as a way
of Reconstruction and Development companies, Sun Valley. The company of managing the damaging impacts
(EBRD). The EBRD has provided funding operates across Europe and processes of production. The Round Table on
for thousands of agricultural projects in around 1 million chickens a week in the Responsible Soy (RTRS) was established
central Europe, including a contribution UK. Customers include McDonalds and in November 2006, representing different
of £7.8 million to intensive livestock supermarket chain Morrisons. stakeholders from the industry, with the
production in 2007-08. Sun Valley chickens are fed on Cargill big soy producers dominant.141 NGOs
British and European banks play an soy, imported through the company’s in Latin America have largely rejected
important part in financing the soy trade plant in Liverpool, 25 per cent of which is or boycotted certification and most
by holding shares and providing finance sourced from Brazil. schemes have failed to consult with
for key companies: affected communities while developing
s Barclays has investments in ADM, their criteria. The RTRS has so far only
Bunge and Cargill. established draft criteria, but these do not
s Barclays and HSBC both provide take into account the damaging impacts
credit for ADM and Bunge. of soy expansion. An earlier attempt
s HSBC and the Royal Bank of at setting a sustainability standard led
Scotland hold bonds in Cargill. to the Basel Criteria142 – a broad set of
principles which can be applied to local
schemes. Pro Terra is the only Brazilian
scheme in operation that meets the
Friends of the Earth/Clare Oxborrow
Basel Criteria and there is relatively
little Basel-accredited soy available
on the market.143 The UK Foreign and
Commonwealth Office has invested
£236,520 in a soy certification project in
Brazil aimed at reducing deforestation.144
While the scheme was successful in
reducing deforestation rates, there are
concerns that such schemes displace
problems and disregard property and
land rights.145
Questions remain about the enforcement
of sustainability standards for any
scheme. Evidence suggests that criteria
Cargill soy-processing plant, Paraguay
will be used to justify expansion while
having little impact on the methods of
production or the macro effects of large-
scale expansion.
25Agricultural policy and soy The European Union currently spends
UK and European agricultural policies £34 billion each year on the CAP, of
have played a key role in developing which £3.4 billion comes from the UK –
Europe’s reliance on imported soy the equivalent of £500 per family. Around
for animal feed. When the Common 88 per cent of this is spent on direct aid Soybeans are harvested at Fartura Farm,
Agricultural Policy (CAP) was established to farming and food production. The rest in Mato Grosso state, Brazil, March 2008
in Europe in 1962, it established an is used to protect farmers from sudden
agreement with the United States that drops in market prices.
animal feed would not be subject to Farmers receive funds according to
import tariffs. the size of the farm, meaning large-scale
Under the CAP, the European farmers and agribusinesses receive most
Community effectively guaranteed prices of the aid – 80 per cent of funds reach
for most European farm produce when just 20 per cent of farms.
the market price fell below an agreed In 2002, more than 60 per cent of the
target level. This encouraged farmers CAP budget went to livestock-related
to focus on producing cereals, milk, production. Following changes in the
beef and sugar – where the price was way payments were made, it is no longer
guaranteed – and to import animal feed. possible to know how much money goes
This meant that land previously used to to livestock production, but 14 of the top
grow feed was converted to produce 20 UK recipients are involved in dairy
cereals.146 production.
As a result, Europe became dependent For example, Meadow Foods, a leading
on soy imports, initially from the United manufacturer of bulk fats and proteins
States. Attempts to reform the CAP met used in ice cream, spreads, sports drinks,
with considerable resistance from the processed meats and confectionery,
United States and the European animal received nearly £26 million in 2003-04.
feed industry. In 1992, European farmers
limited the amount of oilseed that they
could grow by signing a 10-year deal with
the United States.147 When this expired
BSE was already having an impact on
farming – in 1996, the use of meat and
bone meal in animal feed had been
banned and farmers turned to soy as an
alternative protein source.
Corbis
26Farmers receive subsidy funding according to their size so large-
scale farmers and agri-business receive most of the aid.
273 SOLUTIONS
It is clear that the current model Less intensive production systems and
of livestock production is no longer a greater reliance on organic production
affordable in environmental or social can reduce the damaging environmental
terms. The climate, water systems, soil effects of over-reliance on pesticides and
and wildlife cannot sustain the damage other inputs, as well as reducing farmers’
that is being caused. costs.
There are increasing pressures on land However, a switch to more sustainable
use. Our demand for food is growing in livestock systems will necessitate an
line with the world population and there is overall reduction in livestock production
an urgent need to maintain our forest and and consumption.
grasslands and to prevent the erosion of The considerable environmental and
soils. social damage caused by the livestock
Soy is not the only available source sector requires a significant policy
of vegetable proteins suitable for animal response. There is no single policy that
feed. Alternatives include hemp, lupins, can address the complex factors driving
legumes and oilseed rape. Many of unsustainable consumption. Action
these are already produced in the UK from governments in producing and
and some are suitable for production consuming countries will be required to
on farms, reducing the need for initiate the necessary changes across the
transportation. For example, in France whole supply chain.
peas are grown for use in pig and poultry Friends of the Earth has identified
feed. eight key policy areas where action by
A more localised system of food the UK Government, including changes
production – using animal feed grown in to UK and European policy, could help
Europe to feed animals reared in Europe to significantly reduce the impact of our
– would help to reduce the devastating livestock consumption.
impacts of habitat loss in Latin America,
as well as reducing the climate-changing
emissions generated by land use change
and transporting vast quantities of feed.
Local food production also encourages
the production of a wider range of food
crops, locally-appropriate diets, greater
local control over food supplies and less Forest and organic farm in Altos,
price volatility for farmers. run by Sobrevivencia/Friends of the Earth
Paraguay for training and education
28“If we are serious about tackling food-related greenhouse gas
emissions, we need to consider making significant reductions in
our overall production of livestock products, while seeking to
maximise the benefits that livestock can bring.”
Food Climate Research Network 2007
Changes to agricultural Changes to the Government’s
1 and rural policy 2 food procurement policy
The UK currently spends large amounts Around £2.2 billion of public money
of taxpayers’ money subsidising is currently spent on food in schools,
damaging large-scale intensive food hospitals, prisons and care homes. Little
production, processing and export consideration is given to where this food
through the CAP. comes from or its wider impacts, despite
The Government must work within the Government’s Public Sector Food
Europe to transform the CAP objectives Procurement Initiative. A ‘cheapest is
(as set out in Article 33 of the Treaty best’ approach dominates.
of Rome) to reflect the wider needs of The Government must introduce new
sustainable modern farming policy with enabling legislation by 2012 to ensure
reduced greenhouse gas emissions. that food procurement in the public
The subsidies which underpin intensive sector: complies with carbon reduction
livestock farming 148 should be removed. targets and national environmental
New measures must be introduced to legislation; does not damage biodiversity;
promote low-impact livestock systems, and supports local sustainable organic
the domestic production of sustainable livestock production where possible.
feeds, and research into the introduction Such measures are already in use as
of different livestock breeds better suited some local authorities and NHS trusts
to a new feeding regime.149 are finding ways to reduce the levels of
A sustainable livestock system, with meat and dairy in the meals they provide
locally-grown feed, will lead to reduced in schools and hospitals.150
livestock consumption. The UK does In the Netherlands, the government has
not have sufficient agricultural land to set a target of 100 per cent sustainable
grow the levels of feed crops it currently food procurement by 2010. A similar
consumes. Investment is needed UK government policy could deliver real
in raising public awareness of the environmental and health benefits, while
environmental impact of intensive meat also influencing the European green
and dairy production and the health procurement policy currently being
benefits of eating less meat. discussed in the European Council and
Support and incentives must be made Parliament.151
available to farmers to help them adopt
less environmentally damaging practices
while maintaining a thriving UK industry
Clare Oxborrow/Friends of the Earth
– it is crucial that farmers receive a fair
price for their produce.
29Clare Oxborrow/Friends of the Earth
3
Clare Oxborrow/Friends of the Earth
Solar panel for drying fruit at sustainable Sustainable agricultural college students show
agricultural college in Itapua, Paraguay Sobrevivencia/Friends of the Earth Paraguay
pigs’ swill made from scrap food and other
farm waste
Changes to global Addressing climate change Funding for research
3 investment policy 4 policy and impacts 5 and development
UK public money is funding damaging The Climate Change Act requires the In recognising the urgent need for
intensive livestock production through Government to find ways of substantially new ways of farming to reduce global
the World Bank’s International Financial reducing greenhouse gas emissions greenhouse gas emissions and
Corporation (IFC), the European Bank of from the food sector, particularly from biodiversity impact, the government
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) UK livestock farming. Measures already must increase public funding (or redirect
and the Foreign and Commonwealth being considered include reducing the existing funds, such as those destined
Office’s Strategic Programme Fund. This number of animals and using maize for agricultural biotechnology research)
support contradicts the World Bank’s own silage for beef and dairy farming to for research into modern sustainable
policies, including the Livestock Strategy, improve dairy yields. Ireland, Poland, farming systems which use lower levels
which stipulates that no funding should Austria and Belgium are already of livestock and inputs and which
be directed towards industrial livestock addressing livestock numbers as a maximise the potential for mixed farming.
production. means of meeting environmental This research needs to investigate
The Government must commit to goals.153 changes to livestock breeds, feed plant
ensuring that, within two years, public However, the Act does not take varieties and cropping systems to deliver
money is no longer invested – via the into account the global impacts of a UK farming system that matches need
World Bank, the EBRD, or other financial importing food or animal feed. The with environmental, rural development
institutions – in intensive livestock Government must look at effective and public health goals.
farming systems which depend on high measures for reducing our unsustainable To facilitate this research and to
levels of imported feed. The Government dependence on imported feeds. As provide an appropriate and well-funded
must also use its governance role within part of this, the Government must push institutional setting, the government
the World Bank to ensure that the IFC for equitable solutions to forest loss should set up a Sustainable Agricultural
adheres to World Bank policy. through agricultural expansion and over Research Council.
The UK must stop promoting soy consumption at international climate Organic mixed farming systems in the
certification schemes which facilitate talks.154 UK provide a valuable base from which to
large-scale production and expansion The impact of agriculture on climate start as they have benefited from a period
with little reference to the wider change must also be a primary of considerable investment in breeding,
impacts.152 consideration in future European cropping and input testing to maximise
discussion on the CAP to ensure that outputs whilst minimising impacts. Public
it includes financial support for climate funds must also be directed into finding
adaptation measures. ways to help consumers choose diets
containing lower levels of livestock
products.
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