On the 10th September, during the 17th World Meat Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, the livestock industry was told that it must take a responsible attitude towards climate change by Dr Pierre Gerber, one of the authors of the United Nations FAO report 'Livestock's Long Shadow'.
Pasture land and range land are being degraded by over-exploitation by the livestock industry - 3.4 billion hectares of pasture land is used by the livestock industry worldwide and 470 million hectares of land is used to produce livestock feed, ie 33 per cent of all arable land in the world. The livestock industry also produces a massive amount of greenhouse gas emissions, from the billions of livestock animals themselves, and also from feed production and the production and use of chemical fertilisers and fossil fuels.
To read a report on the congress which has been posted online, called 'Livestock industry warned over climate change', go to www.thepigsite.com/swinenews/19005/wmc-report-livestock-industry-
warned-over-climate-change