Environmental Effects Of Animal Farming

Question 1

Overall view

Answer 1

• land-plant-animal-man equilibrium is over -> farm emission
• green house effect - acid rain
• sustainability !!! -> use of best available technology
• different countries - different problems
• local effects
• 3 main sectors:
  1, self sufficient farming: pig, poultry, traditional environment, urban location, small farms
  2, low scale marketing: poultry, pig, urban/suburban, growing environmental problems, hard to improve, small land, sometimes problems with manure handling
  3, large scale farming: poultry, pig, cattle, sheep, suburban, huge local effect, big environmental impact

Question 2

Effects of animal production on nature and society

Answer 2

• Harmful emissions→ green house effect, damage ozone layer, damage life quality, transmission of diseases, acid rain (soil acidification)
• Pests→ rodents, birds, insect
• Animal wastes→ soil and water pollution, communication of infections
• Food safety and quality→ direct effects
• Effects on animal health→ reproductive failures, management related diseases
• Labour health→ acute/chronic respiratory syndromes, locomotor and circulatory disorders

Question 3

Environmental impacts of emission

Answer 3

• soil - nitrate, phosphorous, potassium (N, P, K)
  
  • lake, river -> underground water
    —> drinking water, eutrophication
• harmful gases: NH3, CO2, H2S, CH4, N2O, CO
  
  • health risk
  • decreased production
  • closed barns: pig, poultry, calves
  • environmental effects
• foul gases

Question 4

What is eutrophication?

Answer 4

• occures when the environment becomes enriched with nutrients
• increases the amount of plant and algea growth
• result of the process:
  
  • harmful algal blooms
  • dead zones
  • fish kills

Question 5

Foul gases

Answer 5

◦ Organic acids: propionic-, butyric acid
◦ Phenol derivatives: p-cresol, p-phenol
◦ Aliphatic and nitrogen compounds: mono-, di-, tri-methylamines, ammonium
◦ Sulphur compounds: hydrogen sulphide, dimethyl sulphide, ethyl mercaptane

◦ Healthrisk
◦ Human discomfort

Question 6

Greenhouse gases

Answer 6

• Methane:
◦ marsh lands, ruminants, bio-gas production
→20% share in the global production
◦ Effect: 40 x CO2
• CO2 (kg/year):
◦ cattle (4000), sheep (400), pig (450),
{average car (1750)} ←5% global share
• Dinitrogen oxide: 1.2% of soil N is transformed into N2O →40% global share
◦ Effect: 330 x CO2
• Ammonium: 1kg nitrogen consumed by a pig
◦ 350g→ tissues, 130g→ directly into air, 180g→air via manure, 340g→ into soil

Question 7

Reduction of harmful emissions

Answer 7

• reasonable limitation of production
• spatial separation of sourcesof pollution and human settlements
• legal control of treatment and disposal of pollutants

Question 8

Reasonable limitation of production

Answer 8

• extensification of animal agriculture: free range farming, beef cattle production, forests, natural conservation, rural tourism, environmentalism vs global needs
• use of best available technology (BAT)
• feeding methods: multiphase feeding —> less in feed N, less N excretion, synthetic AAs, feed additives to improve utilization of nutrients (non-starch polysaccharidase enzymes, phytaseenzymes, macro/micro/trace elements etc)
• animal health
• appropriate timing of slaughter, ending the production
• housing methods
  
  • sloping floor system - pig
    
    • animal and environmental friendly, pigs pull the straw out and play with it, more comfy laying area, less liquid manure, less gas formation, less water waste, water saving cleaning methods

Question 9

Spatial separation of sources of pollution and human settlements

Answer 9

◦ In EU→ Based on odour emissions of animal farms
▪In Hungary→
◦ responsibility is in the hands of municipal authorities

Question 10

Legal control of treatment and disposal of pollutants

Answer 10

◦ regulates the amount of materials disposable on ha arable land
◦ 2008/1/EC