http://www.fao.org/ag/AGAinfo/resources/documents/pol-briefs/02/EN/AGA02_EN_08.pdf

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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome)

PRESS RELEASE

February 2, 2006

Posted to the web February 2, 2006

OMAHA (DTN) -- Industrial livestock production in developing countries often

causes severe environmental damages, especially when meat and dairy

factories are crowded together around cities or close to water resources,

the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) warned Thursday.

In a report entitled Livestock Policy Brief 02, Pollution from

industrialized livestock production the UN agency urged governments to

create incentives for more environmentally friendly dairy and meat

production practices.

Meat and dairy products have become more widely available and affordable in

many developing countries. Between 1980 and 2004, meat production in

developing countries tripled from around 50 million to 150 million tonnes.

Although consumers in developed countries still eat three to four times as

much meat per person, developing countries now produce and consume well over

half of the world's meat.

The rapid growth of livestock production in the developing world has been

concentrated mainly in a few large countries, including Brazil, Mexico,

China and the countries around the South China Sea (Thailand, Vietnam and

the Philippines).

Meat production in developing countries is expected to increase by about 110

million tonnes by 2030.

From cattle to pig and poultry In many developing countries large industrial

livestock operations with thousands of animals have displaced production on

small farms that raise both animals and crops and recycle nutrients as

fodder and fertilizer. New production has shifted increasingly from cattle

that graze on grass in rural areas to industrial pig and poultry production

on the outskirts of major cities. In Asia, large-scale industrial production

accounts for roughly 80 percent of the total increase in livestock products

since 1990.

In industrial production systems, large quantities of animal wastes

accumulate far from croplands where they could be safely recycled. Dense

concentrations of industrial livestock production create vast quantities of

manure. Although much lower on a national scale, concentration of pig and

poultry production in parts of China and Brazil is approaching and

surpassing levels found in Europe and North America.

Pig and poultry production concentrated in coastal areas of China, Thailand

and Viet Nam are emerging as the major source of nutrient pollution of the

South China Sea, the FAO report said. Pig production accounts for an

estimated 42 percent of nitrogen and 90 percent of phosphorus flows into the

South China Sea.

Along much of the densely populated coast, the pig density exceeds 100

animals per square kilometer and agricultural lands are overloaded with huge

nutrient surpluses. Run-off is severely degrading seawater and sediment

quality in one of the world's most biologically diverse marine areas,

threatening mangroves, coral reefs and sea grasses.

Major forms of pollution associated with manure management in intensive

livestock production include:

Leaching of nitrates and pathogens into groundwater, which often threatens

drinking water supplies.

Oversupply of nutrients that damages soil fertility. In several Asian

countries, one quarter of the total crop area suffers from significant

nutrient overloads. Almost half the excess phosphorus supply comes from

livestock.

Destruction of fragile ecosystems such as wetlands, mangrove swamps and

coral reefs. Threatened coastal areas of the South China Sea, for example,

have provided the habitat for 45 of the world's 51 mangrove species, almost

all of the known coral species and 20 of the 50 known sea grasses.

Government policies such as zoning regulations and taxes can discourage

large concentrations of intensive production close to cities, the report

said. Taxes, certification programmes and other policy instruments can

support best practices in livestock production. In Thailand, for example,

the high concentration of poultry production on the outskirts of Bangkok was

significantly reduced in less than a decade, because poultry farmers within

a 100 kilometer radius of Bangkok had to pay high taxes. Chicken farmers

outside that zone enjoyed tax-free status.

Unfortunately, in many countries outdated and misguided policies actively

promote environmentally unsustainable livestock production, FAO said. Many

developing countries provide subsidies for chemical fertilizers, energy and

credit. Such subsidies tend to be of greater benefit to large operations.