Impact Of Meat Production On The Environment – India’s buffalo meat industry is the largest in the world, exporting 1.2 million tonnes of meat in 2018-19 alone. However, the industry can extract a heavy toll on the environment, with reports indicating the rapid degradation of grasslands and the release of greenhouse gases as a result of current livestock farming practices.

The forage requirement of an adult buffalo along with the water requirements associated with irrigation were used to estimate water requirements for the total buffalo population in India (Photo: Yashika Kapoor)

Impact Of Meat Production On The Environment

A plate of shammi kebabs, delicious butter chicken or buff tikka, will never disappoint the taste buds of an Amet lover. But this romance of the palate and the flesh may be playing a role in exacerbating the deteriorating state of the environment.

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The century is experiencing changes in lifestyle and food habits with population surge. Annual per capita consumption of meat has risen to 4.4 kg per person and is putting pressure on production lines. This, in turn, has placed greater demands on water and land resources for raising livestock.

India is one of the leading exporters of buffalo meat in the world. On the domestic front, monthly consumption of buffalo meat increased by about 13% in rural areas and 25% in urban areas between 2009 and 2012. To produce this buffalo meat, a considerable amount of surface and groundwater is required, especially given that buffaloes have considerable appetites.

A buffalo consumes about 4 kg of green fodder, 7 kg of dry fodder and 0.36 kg of concentrate per day. With a population of over 100 million buffalo, this equates to a daily water requirement of 1 trillion liters for dry fodder, 200 million liters for green fodder and 29 million liters for concentrates respectively.

Commenting on the situation, Nilanjan Ghosh, Director and Economist, Observer Research Foundation, says, “The availability of water per person has been declining over time and the meat industry continues to be an area of ​​concern. However, to better assess the situation, additional indicators are needed besides water supply.

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In addition to requiring large amounts of water, livestock depend on land resources for grazing. Indian grasslands graze a total of 512 million head of cattle on about 12 million hectares of land. This indicates an average of 42 animals grazing per hectare of land, well above the recommended limit of five animals per hectare. As a result, overgrazing problems plague these lands, not only compromising land and soil quality, but also leaving animals with insufficient pasture to feed on.

Maharashtra, one of the top five buffalo meat-producing states, presents degraded pasture land of 0.43% of the state’s total geographical area. This figure may seem small in the present, but the long-term effects are not so small.

Another problem associated with high meat production is methane emissions. Ruminants like buffalo and cattle constitute the majority of livestock in India. The natural digestive processes of these animals produce methane, also known as enteric methane emission (EME). It is estimated that 200 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents are released from Indian livestock every year. A continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions can cause environmental damage and energy loss, while increasing surface temperatures.

According to Jimmy Borah, a veteran biodiversity conservationist, “The meat industry emits a significant amount of greenhouse gases, apart from other sectors such as electricity, industries and transportation. However, the conversion of livestock into meat accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than livestock.

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On this issue, Sayantan Ghosh, former environment journalist of the Millennium Post, emphasizes the importance of meat as a source of protein for India, which not only lags behind in the Human Development Index but also faces low levels of public knowledge on the impact of the meat industry. Land and Water Resources. “India does not have a holistic approach to nutrition,” he says, “so, until we increase research to produce adequate and affordable complementary nutritional food, people will suffer from the lack of an alternative tomato.”

Fragmented data and lack of systematic research on the impact of increasing meat consumption on the overall contribution to climate change distorts the situation. For example, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015 – 16, Kerala ranks among the highest Indian states in weekly consumption of meat/fish. But such data have not been followed up by any investigation into balancing meat consumption and production with climate and sustainability goals.

Therefore, individual efforts and systematic investigations to balance meat consumption with sustainable use of resources are the need of the hour. On the policy-making front, gathering and gathering knowledge can be the first step to identify such issues and make decisions. Get the latest tools, innovations and science-based information for the Canadian beef industry, including seasonal production considerations and economic analyses.

Grazing livestock are an integral part of grassland ecosystems and play an important role in nutrient recycling. Grasslands are important reservoirs of carbon and provide habitat for many species at risk and preserve wetlands that would otherwise be cultivated. Livestock production in feedlots reduces the carbon footprint of beef and increases the efficiency of beef production. As with any food production system, there is an environmental footprint associated with beef production.

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The efficiency and environmental footprint of beef production in Canada has improved significantly over the past 30 years. Researchers from the University of Manitoba and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Lethbridge found that every unit of Canadian beef produced.

Grasslands grazed by beef cattle represent a major carbon store and can contain up to 200 tons of carbon per hectare. Returning cropland to perennial grasslands can increase carbon storage.

Grazing Ruminants are a natural component of grasslands and play a critical role in nutrient recycling and the protection of endangered and threatened species in these ecosystems.

Water used in beef production does not disappear; Eventually the water returns through the system to be reused. Cattle production contributes to the conservation of wetlands, which serve as important habitats for aquatic birds and mammals.

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Greenhouse gas emissions associated with beef cattle production can be reduced by adjusting diets and monitoring soil used for crop production.

Balanced diets, frequent cleaning and drainage of pens, and proper manure management can help improve air quality and animal health in feedlots. Areas adjacent to intensive feedlot operations should implement rotational cropping systems or increase manure hauling distances to slow the rate of nutrient accumulation in the soil.

Most of the plants that are eaten by livestock and converted into nutrient-dense meat are not edible by humans. In North America, grains that fail to grade for human consumption represent a significant proportion of feedlot livestock diets and contribute to the efficiency of this production system.

Cattle producers use multiple grazing management techniques, participate in training such as the proven Beef Production Plus program, and follow sound and experimental research to enhance land use, conservation and resource management.

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Beef’s footprint has implications for greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient cycling, water and air quality, carbon stores, and conservation of grassland ecosystems. News stories about the beef industry and its impact on the environment in the popular press are often about instances where production does not follow best management practices, although some aspects of the footprint, such as the production of greenhouse gases, are inevitable.

Research shows that our industry has made significant improvements in efficiency over time. Researchers from the University of Manitoba and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Lethbridge, funded in part by farmers through a Beef Science Cluster funded project, found that Canada produced 32% more beef in 2011 than in 1981. High carcass weight. It took 29% less breeding stock, 27% less slaughter cattle, and 24% less land to produce the same amount of beef in 2011, producing 15% less greenhouse gases (

Reductions in the beef industry’s environmental footprint have come largely through technologies that improve production efficiency. Optimizing nutrition has helped improve growth and reproductive performance. When more females get pregnant and successfully nurse a calf, fewer cows need to be retained as replacements, so the breeding herd is smaller and there are fewer cows to produce greenhouse gas emissions. On the feedlot side, cow carcass weight increased due to growth stimulants. Improvements in the yield of feed crops mean that less land is needed to produce the same amount of feed.

Many of the same things that improve productivity on the farm, ranch or feedlot contribute to a smaller environmental footprint for the beef industry.

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Over the past century, most grasslands have been plowed for crop production, leaving less than 20% of this ecosystem. Native grasslands represent an important store of carbon and can contain up to 200 tons of carbon per hectare. Much of this carbon is stored in the roots of grasses and shrubs, explaining why tillage releases more carbon than that released by natural fires.

Returning cropland to perennial grassland can increase carbon storage, sequestration occurs rapidly initially and

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