Livestock production evolving to contribute to sustainable societies

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Gill, M., Gibson, J. P. and Lee, M. R. F. 2018. Livestock production evolving to contribute to sustainable societies. Animal. 12 (8), pp. 1696-1698. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731118000861

AuthorsGill, M., Gibson, J. P. and Lee, M. R. F.
Abstract

There is a hypothesis in the anthropological literature (e.g. Milton, 2003) that our complex human brains would not have developed without hominoids having routine access to foods of animal origin. In many countries, therefore, the consumption of animal source foods, and meat in particular, became part of a cultural identity, while in others (e.g. India) vegetarianism has long been part of the cultural/religious identity (approx. 30% of Indians are vegetarian, although the majority of those consume milk products). In the twenty first
century, humans can, theoretically, have access to non animal- derived sources of nutrients required for brain development, so animal products are no longer as important for nutrition as they were for our ancestors. There are also other issues, however, associated with livestock production which impact on the consumption of animal products. Culture in many countries has evolved to give a higher priority to the welfare of farm animals and there are additional ethical issues associated with the negative environmental impacts of livestock production. We read a lot, therefore, about the rise of veganism, with calls for diets free of animal products, yet there is also evidence that the
consumption of meat at a country level increases as the
income of that country increases (FAO, 2009). The average global per capita meat consumption at over 40 kg, has, therefore, doubled from the consumption in 1960. However, the annual global rate of increase in both meat and milk consumption is projected (OECD/FAO, 2017) to decrease slightly in the decade from 2017-2026, to 1.5% per annum for meat and 1.9% per annum for milk.

KeywordsSustainable livestock production; Diets; Livestock Products; Global Farm Platform (GFP)
Year of Publication2018
JournalAnimal
Journal citation12 (8), pp. 1696-1698
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731118000861
Open accessPublished as green open access
FunderThe British Council
Funder project or codeGlobal sustainability in livestock systems: managing environmental impacts.
Publisher's version
Accepted author manuscript
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online18 Jul 2018
Publication process dates
AcceptedMay 2018
Copyright licenseCC BY
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP)
ISSN1751-7311

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