Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
18
Animal Agriculture: How Can It
Be Sustainable in the Future?
D.K. Beede*
Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University,
East Lansing, Michigan, USA
When nature works on her own, she only
creates living soils. But, the moment the
human being enters, they can either work
like nature and rebuild the life of the soil with
every action, or take it away. The choice is
desertification or fertile and living soils that
feed us.
Dr Vandana Shiva, physicist, environmental
activist and anti-globalization author in the
documentary film, 'Dirt! The Movie' (2009)
Several variations on the definition (concept)
of sustainable agriculture and sustainable
animal agriculture are offered in this topic.
Virtually all conceptually encompass the quali-
ties of manageable, viable and equitable inter-
relationships among the three primary pillars
of sustainability - social, environmental and
economic - people, planet and profit (Chapter 1).
Most accurately, sustainable agriculture and
assuredly sustainable animal agriculture belong
under the umbrella of sustainable development
(Raman, 2006). The Bruntland Commission
Report -
Our Common Future
(WCED, 1987)
provided the overarching definition of sustain-
able development as 'development that meets
the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs'. Furthermore, it was stressed that
sustainable development is not possible with-
out sustainable agriculture (Raman, 2006).
Sustainable animal agriculture is a crucial
component of sustainable agriculture because
animals are an irreplaceable component in the
interplay among mass, including especially
water and other nutrients, and energy recycling
in mixed plant-animal systems. Agriculture and
Introduction
Animal agriculture as currently practised and
managed in many areas of the world is not sus-
tainable in the future. To make animal agricul-
ture more universally sustainable it is imperative
that the close proximity, interrelationships,
cycles and balances among soil, water, plants
and animals be reemphasized, revitalized and
developed to build and maintain healthy soils
and a continuum of holistic sustainable animal
agricultural systems (also known as 'mixed plant-
animal systems') in developing and developed
countries.
