Environmental issues Flashcards
Custodiuan definition
Someone who is responsible for taking care of something
Name the 5 features of the environment important in Food Animal Management
- Soil
- Water
- Air
- Energy
- Biodiversity
Name 3 economic factors important in Food Animal Management?
- Sustainable
- Profitable
- Lawful
Name 4 health and welfare features important in food animal management?
- ‘life worth living’
- 5 freedoms
- Expectation of consumers
- Vet as custodian
How much pollution is agriculture responsible for?
20%
What % of GHG does farming produce?
18%
What % Carbon dioxide does farming produce?
9%
What % CH4 does farming produce?
37%
What % of N20 does farming produce? (nitrous oxide)
65%
What % of ammonia does farming produce?
64%
Where is all of the nitrous oxide from?
fertilisers
What three factors affect soil quality?
- pollution
- compaction and erosion (dairy,pigs)
- biodiversity and ecology
What pollutes soil?
- Agriculture chemicals, fertilisers, disinfectants
- Veterinary medicines (avermectins, coccidiostats, anibiotics)
- Heavy metals from feed concentrates e.g. Zn and Cu
- Pathogens (faecal indicator organisms - E.coli, viruses, cryptosporidium)
What is the outcome of soil compaction and erosion?
- reduced water infiltrationWha
- Increased run-off and flood-risk
- Effect of producing feed crops e.g. maize - increases compaction
What affects the biodiversity and ecology of soil?
1, avermectins and invertebrates (in soil >180 days)
2, antibiotics and anthelmintics
3, survival of animals in compacted soil
Name 4 issues with soil waste management?
- waste disposal
- recycling of nutrients (slurry on land)
- eutrophication in riparian (river banks) and terrestrial ecosystems
- processing options are limited
How many tonnes of manure produced each year and how much from cattle?
90 million tonnes, 80% from cattle.
Where does the majority of ammonia from agriculture come from?
80% from manure and fertiliser
what is the issue with applying slurry to land?
has a positive effect, but excess nutrients cause harm
What is eutrophication and name 4 things that it causes?
Eutrophication are blooms of phytoplankton and zooplanton.
- depletion of dissolved oxygen
- release of toxins
- reduced biodiversity
- decreased aesthetic value of the water body
name four processing options for soil-waste?
- spread on land
- dump at sea (not allowed)
- landfill (expensive)
- incineration (pollution and requires energy)
What % of withdrawn freshwater is used in agriculture?
70%
how much water do irrigation systems waste?
50% of water through evaporation, also leading to salinisation of soil
why is there no incentive to use water efficiently?
it is an inexpensive resource.
what is a major issue of water on farms?
leaching of nitrates and phosphates.
which types of farming requires the most water?
beef > sheep > pork > chicken
What is the EU nitrates directive?
An EU directive to reduce water pollution from agriculture
Who fell into Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs)?
All areas of land draining to waters affected by nitrate pollution.
what does the NVZ require farmers to do?
- plan and record the application of nitrogen to each field
- not exceed the nitrogen loading limit per year
- calculate the amount of nitrogen and phosphate produced by livestock
- produce a risk map for the farm
- produce a risk assessment for the application of nitrogen
Is the energy consumption high or low for agriculture?
low, but disproportionate amount of GHGs produced (~20%)
what is modern agriculture highly dependent on?
fossil fuels
what do nitrogen fertilisers use?
Large amounts of natural gas and some coal
Is more energy used for animal farming or crops?
pastoral farming uses substantially more
what bad practice in terms of energy consumption makes way for arable land?
deforestation
name 6 ways in which agriculture causes loss of biodiversity?
- clearing land for agriculture
- soil compaction
- degrading habitats by pollution
- contributing to climate change
- selective breeding in livestock
- monocultures.
name 3 risks associated with loss of biodiversity?
- monoculture can increase susceptibility to pests and distort ecosystems - crop rotation is good pest control, however lack of diversity leads to increased susceptibility to disease and more extreme fluctuations in supply.
- extinction of species removes plans and animals that are potentially beneficial to humans.
- imbalance of ecosystem can encourage new pathogens to emerge.
What is the main issue with eutrophication?
Stops light and oxygen entering the water - dead zone where no animals can live.
What could reduce water usage/ pollution and costs and why is it not always implemented?
irrigation - high initial capital costs.
what was the Green Revolution?
Increased crop productivity
- feed concentrates
- Globilisation (export of concentrates)
who is the green revolution good for?
For high GDP countries (intensive production)
Who is the green revolution bad for?
Low GDP countries (grain too expensive and needed for human food)
What demand is rapidly growing in developing countries?
Meat FAO ‘Livestock Revolution’
What are the 5 legislations which regulate economics and animal welfare of food production?
- EU Treaty of Amsterdam (1999) - Animals are ‘sentinent beings’
- Animal Welfare act (2006)
- Minimum Standard - ‘a life worth living’ - DEFRA FAWC (Farm Animal Welfare Committee) 2011
- Five Freedoms
- Codes of Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock
What three things does poor welfare impact upon?
Productivity, product quality and consumption
What is animal suffering?
A negative externality
Give 4 examples of natural welfare in farming?
- Shelter
- Protection from predators
- Better nutrition
- Better housing
give 3 examples of maximal welfare in farming?
- Intensification
- Pharmaceutical intervention
- Genetic selection
Give 5 examples of desired/ appropriate welfare in farming (decreasing the welfare)?
- genetic engineering
- further intensification
- controlled environment and nutrition
- growth promoters
- gut microbiota manipulation
Define the 4 stages of welfare:
A: Natural welfare
B: maximal welfare
c: Desired/ appropriate welfare
D: minimal welfare
What is the main factor decreasing farming welfare?
Pricing sensitivity - farmers have to indure real costs to provide a free ‘public good’
What is the scheme which has improved welfare in farming?
RSPCA Freedom scheme - becoming more of a standard than a special product.
Who pays for increased welfare?
EU and WTO (World Trade Organisation)- improvements not allowed to distort the trade
What effect have globalisation and commodity trading had on farming?
Reduced profitability and increased volitility.
What are the two opposing definitions of welfare?
It can be a ‘public good’ or a ‘negative externality’
What do higher welfare standards mean (to a point)?
Higher productivity
What is the issue with welfare and trade?
How to assign a value to the environmental and welfare costs?
what does it mean if a farm is carbon footprinting?
Trying to put environmental damage costs in place.
what are the main categories of carbon footprinting?
feed,bedding, enteric fermentation, manure management, fuel and energy use, fertiliser management.
what is done with carbon footprinting?
assign environmental damage cost to each activity.
Give an example of a holistic model of carbon footprinting (everything interlinked)?
EU MODULUS
What is an inefficient use of resources?
meat production
how much land do grazing and food crop production take over?
70% agricultural land and 30% earth’s land.
How much human edible protein is supplied to livestock?
77 million tonnes
how much human edible protein is supplied by livestock?
58 million tonnes.
What would be a solution to this meat inefficient use of resources?
Increase vegetarians and vegans in the UK
name 3 factors to achieve sustainable footprint on climcate, water and biodiversity by 2020?
- 7% reduction in GHG
- Reduction in water use including local reduction targets for water-stressed areas.
- improved farmland biodiversity (soil health, pollinators and off-field biodiversity)
How can vets help improve environmental and economic issues?
- cross species diseases
- Animal production systems
- Population medicine
- Formulate comprehensive farm policy
Why is active health planning rare?
Lack of money
Percieved lack of benefit to farm
lack of knowledge/ incentive from the vet
lack of communication
What can environmental and welfare improvements reduce?
medication
Name three strategies to reduce ammonia volatilisation from slurry application?
- slot shallow injection
- Trailing shoes
- Trailing Hoses
Name 5 examples where environmental improvements also have financial benefits?
- using slurry injection
- crusting and covering of slurry storage areas (80%)
- Fuel efficient tractors
- Anaerobic digestion of cattle and pig slurry - Ch4 as energy source
How can dietary manipulation be cost efficient and environmentally friendly?
- feed cows more starch and less fibre to produce more propionate than acetate/ butyrate in the rumen.
- reduced methane emissions
- careful rationing of concentrates to reduce leakage of heavy metals, nitrates and phosphates.
How to reduce environmental impacts in dairy?
- use of plate coolers for milk
- prevent direct access to watercourses e.g. bufferstrips (reduces erosion, sediment, pathogens and nitrate pollution)
- better breeding programmes to increase longevity and fertility (reduce replacement costs)
How to reduce environmental impact of pigs?
Erosion - establish vegetation before stocking with pigs, and plant species pigs dont like to eat.
What are the three E’s of sustainability?
Environment, Economics and Ethics (health and welfare)
Give an example of a model which can prove to farmers that improving the environment can improve profitability.
Dairy Dynamic Management in California.
Who pays for the improvements in environment/welfare that do not have an obvious economic benefit?
> government action: subsidies, fines, incentive schemes
> industry-led: freedom foods, flat premium on products.
State 6 future challenges for farming?
- Increased human population - 9 billion by 2050
- Increased affluence and demand for meat
- inevitable shift towards intensive farming
- Challenge of maintaining good animal welfare standards in intensive farming
- water security - 1 billion have no secure supply
- Global warming - affects crop yields, disease patterns, pests and predictability.
What happened in 8000BC?
Domestication of livestock
What happened in the Middle ages?
manure used as fertiliser and crop rotation
what happened in the 1600s?
use of legumes in crop rotation and production of feed crops
What happened in the 1700s?
Selective breeding of livestock, privitisation of land
What happened in the 1800s?
Mechanised farm equipment, urbanisation of the population
what happened in 1900s?
Industrialised livestock production and inorganic fertilisers
what happens in 1950s/60s?
The ‘Green Revolution’
pesticides and herbicides
What happened 1990 to present?
Genetic modification
the’ livestock revolution’
