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SUSTAINABILITY AND LIVESTOCK: A DOABLE COMBINATION

Sostenibilidad y ganadería: una combinación factible

Antonella Chiariotti

Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA) – Research Center for Animal Production and Aquaculture, Rome, Italy

*Corresponding e-mail: Chiariotti, Antonella (antonella.chiariotti@crea.gov.it).

play a strategic role due to its peculiar characteristics: the high

ability to convert ber into energy, the longevity, and the adap-

El desarrollo sostenible signica satisfacer las necesidades del

presente y al mismo tiempo garantizar que las generaciones

futuras puedan satisfacer sus propias necesidades (Comisión

Europea). La rápida urbanización, el aumento del poder ad-

quisitivo y los cambios en la dieta impulsan la demanda de

dietas más ricas y proteínas de origen animal, lo que deja a

más de 868 millones de ciudadanos desnutridos en todo el

se estima alcanzará los 9 mil millones de personas en 2050,

las proteínas animales aumentarán a medida que la demanda

de carne y leche. Sin embargo, los rumiantes producen meta-

no, que representa la mayor parte de las emisiones del sector

agrícola (5,8% del total antropogénico), lo que genera preocu-

pación sobre su producción. Si aumenta el ganado rumiante,

aumenta la producción de metano, acelerando inevitablemen-

te el calentamiento global. Dependiendo de la calidad de los

recursos, los factores ambientales y los contextos sociales y

económicos, la sostenibilidad de varios tipos de sistemas de

purchasing power, and dietary change drive demand for richer

diets and animal-origin proteins, leaving more than 868 million

undernourished citizens worldwide and 850 million living in de-

veloping countries. Food security could be granted to large pop-

ulations by reducing food waste, which accounts for 1.3 billion

tons per year, or implementing livestock farming and promot-

ing a sustainable food demand. With economic progress and

the world’s growing population, estimated to reach more than

9 billion people in 2050, animal proteins will increase as meat

and milk demand. Nevertheless, ruminants produce methane,

may vary considerably in sustainability. These livestock sys-

tems include extensive grassland, intensive landless, mixed,

and family farming systems. Massive worldwide research has

investigated the e󰀨ect of various mitigation strategies. None-

theless, the under-representation of certain strategies, geo-

graphic regions, the calculation’s robustness, and long-term

studies are the main limitations in providing an accurate quan-

titative estimation of the respective mitigation potential under

diverse animal production systems. Ruminant livestock is im-

portant not only for producing nutrient-dense meat and milk for

tries. The bu󰀨alo (Bubalus bubalis), represented by a total of

204 million head (3.9 % increase in the last ten years), could

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de agricultura intensiva sin tierra, mixtos y familiares. Una in-

vestigación masiva a nivel mundial ha investigado el efecto de

varias estrategias de mitigación. No obstante, la subrepresen-

tación de ciertas estrategias, regiones geográcas, la solidez

de los cálculos y los estudios a largo plazo son las principales

limitaciones para proporcionar una estimación cuantitativa pre-

cisa del potencial de mitigación respectivo en diversos siste-

los humanos o viven en tierras no aptas para el cultivo. La ga-

nadería también contribuye a unos ingresos muy necesarios

para los agricultores familiares de los países en desarrollo. El

búfalo (Bubalus bubalis), representado por un total de 204 mi-

llones de cabezas (un aumento del 3,9 % en los últimos diez

años), podría desempeñar un papel estratégico por sus pecu-

liares características: la alta capacidad de convertir la bra en

energía, la longevidad y la adaptación en zonas extremas con

clima frío o cálido-húmedo donde otros rumiantes no pueden

prosperar. Además, contribuye al sustento de muchas perso-

The Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock (GASL) de-

nes sustainable livestock as follows: “To be sustainable, live-

stock sector growth needs to simultaneously address key en-

vironmental, social, and economic challenges: growing natural

resources scarcity, climate change, widespread poverty, food

insecurity and global threats to animal and human health and

animal welfare”. Sustainable livestock solutions are driven by

two signicant elements: the sector’s diversity and the demand

for livestock commodities [1].

The world’s growing population will reach more than 9

billion people in 2050, and an improved standard of living will

inevitably increase demands for animal proteins (meat and

milk). Nevertheless, ruminants produce methane, which ac-

counts for most of the agricultural sector emissions (5.8% of the

total anthropogenic), raising concerns about their production.

If ruminant livestock increase, methane production increases,

accelerating global warming in the process.

vegetable resources that would be inedible to humans and/or

enhance protein and essential micronutrient supply (Zinc, cal-

cium, Vit.B12, and riboavin), often challenging to obtain from

vegetable crops [4, 5].

as climate change, water depletion, desertication, and land

erosion. Even though it may have contributed to enhancing

some of these issues, it can contribute to the solution, oper-

ating within an agroecological and environmental framework

while protecting biodiversity [6]. The livestock sector relates

also to the importance of di󰀨erent ecosystem types, manage-

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13th World Bu󰀨alo Congress ~ 13er Congreso Mundial de Búfalos / Lectures / Sustainability & Socioeconomics _______________________

local breeds adapted to specic contexts [15], and due to their

greater ability to thrive in a stressful environment, indigenous

breeds display higher resilience than exotic breeds.

benet the environment and, eventually, the livestock produc-

tion e󰀩ciency. Nevertheless, according to Arndt et al. (2022),

methane yield is not the only relevant measure; other methane

emissions and animal performance metrics should be consid-

ered to estimate the feasibility of mitigation strategies.

Well-managed livestock are an integral and productive

part of agriculture. Among other ecological services, they can

convert non-edible biomass from pasture systems and produce

human food, recycle plant nutrients back into the soil, improve

In addition, research has shown that pasture-based production

systems are better for animal welfare and enhance biodiversity,

as these systems allow for more natural animal behavior.

Grazing management and soil management practices

include rotational grazing, cover cropping, and conservation

tillage. Rotational grazing involves altering grazing patterns

to ensure that the plants are not overgrazed and have time

to regrow. In contrast, cover cropping involves the planting of

specic species of crops after harvesting to add fertility to the

soil while conserving soil moisture and reducing erosion. Con-

+ Temperature

(heat stress)

- Milk and meat production

- Reproductive

- Immune functions

+ Mortality

- Crop yield

Change in pasture

+ Diseases, pests,

and stress

+ Temperature

change in rainfall

MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOR THE REDUCTION OF

METHANE IN RUMINANTS

Manure management

servation tillage involves minimal mechanical disturbance of

the soil. It helps retain a large portion of the crop residues on

the soil surface to be used as organic matter for soil nutrition.

Practices such as rotational grazing and fodder banking can

also increase the production e󰀩ciency of smallholder farms

and prevent land degradation. These methods reduce methane

emissions from the soil, along with reducing erosion and wa-

ter pollution [25]. Nevertheless, adopting the best sustainable

farming systems is often complex as they could result in di󰀨er-

production [26]. For example, systems based on grazing may

show higher environmental performances because of the lower

inputs needed for production, albeit requiring more land.

as barley, alfalfa, or sorghum are more sustainable. Further-

more, some livestock farms are now using by-products from

agro-industrial residues that could help reduce waste and their

disposal costs.

Knowledge about management and information sharing

among farmers are also substantial interventions for sustain-

able livestock production. Access to accurate and timely infor-

mation can increase farmers’ capacity to manage their resourc-

es, leading to improved yields and reduced emissions [28].

Advances in informatics allowed the advancement of cameras,

sensors, and environmental technologies. Moreover, network-

ing and farm management software allow farmers to improve

animal management on individual needs to make informed de-

cisions. Through these techniques, for example, farmers can

monitor soil fertility and reduce the input of fertilizers to main-

tain soil health.

Sustainable livestock production can utilize renewable

energy sources to reduce carbon emissions and produce green

energy for the farm, thus reducing reliance on fossil fuel sourc-

by more than 204 million heads worldwide, plays a strategic

role in the world economy and society. One characteristic that

makes the bu󰀨alo so widely used is its ability to convert -

ber into energy. Numerous studies indicate the superiority of

bu󰀨alo over cattle in food conversion and using fodder and

agricultural by-products with low nutrient content [32]. In addi-

tion, from a recent molecular study, bu󰀨alo rumen, compared

to bovine rumen, appears to have a greater potential for ber

degradation and less potential for gastroenteric methane pro-

duction [33]. Other important characteristics of the bu󰀨alo are

its rusticity, ability to adapt to di󰀨erent climatic environments

(from hot-humid to very cold), and longevity, which is always

higher than that of the bovine. Bu󰀨alo is suitable for work in

plantations or wetlands due to its broad articulation in the

hoofs, especially during the rainy period, when the muddy soil

causes di󰀩cult mobility for other species. For this character-

istic, the bu󰀨alo became many countries’ best draught power

bu󰀨alo products of high quality. Bu󰀨alo meat has a lower calo-

rie content, lower cholesterol, an unsaturated fatty acid/saturat-

low for a cheese yield twice as high as that usually obtained

with cow’s milk. Furthermore, the presence of the A2 versus A1

variant of β-casein makes this milk more like human breast milk

and, therefore, probably easier to digest [36].

prehensive and varied aspects of nutrition, landscapes, and

culture considering the environment, livestock management,

animal health and welfare, and social factors is requested to

deal with the environmental issues of livestock. There is a con-

to bring down to simple metrics. In conclusion, when livestock

production is done well, respecting local ecosystems and so-

cial contexts, it could improve public health and environmental

[1] Schneider F, Tarawali S. Sustainable Development

[2] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

13th World Bu󰀨alo Congress ~ 13er Congreso Mundial de Búfalos / Lectures / Sustainability & Socioeconomics _______________________

a land boundary for sustainable livestock consumption.

Global change biology. 2018 Sep;24(9):4185-94.

[15] FAO. Animal Genetics. http://www.fao.org/animal-gene-

[27] Grossi G, Goglio P, Vitali A, Williams AG. Livestock and

climate change: impact of livestock on climate and miti-

gation strategies. Animal Frontiers. 2019 Jan;9(1):69-76.