6-7 September 2012 - Germany

Bonn - Livestock Futures

An international conference about the future of livestock keeping in its global and social context

The livestock sector is in a crisis. During the last half century, the numbers of farm animals has been growing much faster than the world’s human population. While the numbers of people more than doubled during this time period, the number of farm animals grew 3.6 times, and the number of slaughtered animals even multiplied by the factor of 7.1.

This trend is putting an unprecedented strain on the earth’s resources, with devastating effects on the environment, soil fertility, climate, and biodiversity. Public health – the massive use of antibiotics and growth promoters, as well as the rapid spread of diseases around the globe – is another major concern.

And it seems that there is no end in sight to »Livestock’s long shadow«: The Food and Agriculture Organization predicts that the demand for livestock products will increase dramatically until 2050.

The realization that we have a major predicament at hand, has triggered international organisations to initiate the Global Agenda of Action for a Sustainable Livestock Sector...

Source: Livestock Futures
Author: The League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development

Link: Environmental Audit Committee - Eleventh Report Sustainable Food
Link: Urgent Need for Strategy on Sustainable Food