scholarly journals Impacts of red meat production on biodiversity in Australia: a review and comparison with alternative protein production industries

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (8) ◽  
pp. 723 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Williams ◽  
R. J. Price
Keyword(s):  
Protein Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Red Meat ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Meat Industry ◽  
Farming Community ◽  
Relative Potential ◽  
Terrestrial Biodiversity ◽  
The Impact

All food production systems are under pressure to comply with societal expectations that the produce is not only of good nutritional value but is also sustainably produced. This review compares the performance of the red meat industry in Australia against white meat, plant-protein and other protein production systems across a range of biodiversity pressures through a review of over 500 peer-reviewed and other scientific sources. The review finds that taking into account the past legacy of red meat production systems, these industries make the largest relative potential contribution to the impact on terrestrial biodiversity in Australia, by both the area covered and the nature of the impacts. The review also finds that many initiatives of the beef and sheep industries have the potential to improve the management of biodiversity. To minimise the impact of beef and sheep meat systems on biodiversity, the conservation of natural resources needs to become a core and integral part of production systems, rather than it being perceived as an optional extra if times are good. To help address these challenges, stewardship payments for the ecosystem services (such as carbon, water and biodiversity) provided by the farming community to the wider society warrant further consideration.

scholarly journals Utilizing Conjoint Analysis to Develop Breeding Objectives for the Improvement of Pasture Species for Contrasting Environments When the Relative Values of Individual Traits Are Difficult to Assess

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin F. Smith ◽  
Peter F. Fennessy
Keyword(s):  
Production Systems ◽  
Tree Breeding ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Forest Tree Breeding ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Forage Plants ◽  
Individual Traits ◽  
Breeding Objectives ◽  
Relative Potential

<p>Despite the large number of active programs breeding improved forage plants, relatively little is known about the weightings that breeders consciously or sub-consciously give to specific traits when selecting individual plants, or that agronomists and producers use when assessing the relative merits of contrasting cultivars. This is in contrast to most modern animal breeding programs where the relative merits of novel genetics may be assessed against an index-based breeding objective. There are numbers of reasons why these technologies have not been used widely in plant breeding although applications in forest tree breeding are relatively common. A first step in defining breeding objectives for forage species can be to define the relative importance of specific traits and to interpret how these contribute to the relative potential advantage to a new plant or cultivar. One method of defining these weightings is through surveys of users followed by analyses of their combined experience. Therefore in this study, we have assessed the usefulness of discrete choice techniques in the development of weightings for specific traits in forage plant improvement based on views of both expert users (agronomists and farm consultants) and farmers who were asked to define their relative priorities when considering the renovation of a pasture. The surveys were conducted in three distinct regions of, or environments within, Australia of special relevance to meat production from beef and sheep (high rainfall, temperate (inland), and Mediterranean). In summary this study defines the focus of breeding objectives and selection criteria for different pasture species across production systems.</p>

scholarly journals Identifying Plants that Reduce Methane Production Using an In Vitro System—Helping the Challenge to Become C Neutral

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Philip E. Vercoe ◽  
Amriana Hifizah ◽  
Joy Vadhanabhuti ◽  
Graeme B. Martin ◽  
Zoey Durmic
Keyword(s):  
Plant Extracts ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Red Meat ◽  
Meat Industry ◽  
Waste Products ◽  
Ruminal Microorganisms ◽  
Carbon Neutral

The Australian red meat industry has set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2030. Reaching this goal will be a challenge and will involve targeting ways to increase carbon in the landscape, improve efficiency of production and reduce methane emissions from ruminants. There are a number of different options the industry can pursue to try and achieve its goal, including changing grazing management practices and land-use to changing the animal, what it eats and the microbial ecology in their rumen. No single one of these options will enable the red meat industry to become carbon neutral by 2030, it will take a combination of all of them to help meet the challenge. We have been using an in vitro batch fermentation system and a Rusitec system as a quick, relatively inexpensive, way to screen; plants that already exist in our grazing systems, novel plants, plant extracts and organic waste products from the horticultural industry, for their potential to improve the efficiency of fermentation and reduce methane production in the rumen. We have also used these systems to provide an initial clue about the mechanism of action at the level of the ruminal microorganisms. We have identified variation in these traits amongst the plants, plant extracts and horticultural waste products we have tested that could help develop systems that reduce the environmental footprint of ruminants in tropical production systems in Australia and in other parts of the world.

scholarly journals Environmental Sustainability in Beef Production and Life Cycle Assessment as a Tool for Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-25
Author(s):  
Pedro Henrique Presumido ◽  
Fernando Sousa ◽  
Artur Gonçalves ◽  
Tatiane Cristina Dal Bosco ◽  
Manuel Feliciano
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Beef Production ◽  
Conservation Of Natural Resources ◽  
Intuitive Method ◽  
The Impact

The sustainability of meat production systems has been highlighted by the impact on the environment and the conservation of natural resources. The aim of this manuscript is to provide a specific review of the environmental sustainability of beef production in a life cycle assessment (LCA) context. Questions about the main environmental impacts caused by beef production were discussed. The phases of the LCA were detailed as well as the main functional units, boundaries of the systems and categories of impacts used in recent studies. LCA is a fast, easy and intuitive method that correlates human activities and their environmental performance in different sectors, such as beef production.

scholarly journals Dairy vs. beef production – expert views on welfare

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roi Mandel ◽  
Marc B.M. Bracke ◽  
Christine J. Nicol ◽  
John A. Webster ◽  
Lorenz Gygax
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Beef Cows ◽  
Red Meat ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
Beef Production ◽  
Beef Calves ◽  
Beef Herds

AbstractConsumers’ views and concerns about the welfare of farm animals may play an important role in their decision to consume dairy, meat and/or plants as their primary protein source. As animals are killed prematurely in both dairy and beef industries, it is important to quantify and compare welfare compromise in these two sectors before the point of death. Seventy world-leading bovine welfare experts based in 23 countries, were asked to evaluate the likelihood of a bovine to experience 12 states of potential welfare concern, inspired by the Welfare Quality® protocol. The evaluation focused on the most common beef and dairy production systems in the experts’ country, and was carried out separately for dairy/beef calves raised for red-meat, dairy/beef calves raised for veal, dairy/beef calves raised as replacement, and for dairy/beef cows. The results show experts rated the overall likelihood of a negative welfare state (i.e. welfare risk) to be higher in animals from dairy herds than from beef herds, for all animal categories, regardless of whether they were used to produce milk, red-meat or veal. These findings suggest that consuming food products derived from common dairy production systems (dairy or meat), may be more harmful to the welfare of animals than consuming products derived from common beef production systems (i.e. from animals solely raised for their meat). Raising awareness about the linkage between dairy and meat production, and the toll of milk production on the welfare state of animals in the dairy industry, may encourage a more sustainable and responsible food consumption.

Progress in comprehending the phytate–phytase axis in chicken-meat production

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (10) ◽  
pp. 1767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy F. Moss ◽  
Sonia Yun Liu ◽  
Peter H. Selle
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Sodium Pump ◽  
Glucose Absorption ◽  
Chicken Meat ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Meat Industry ◽  
Phytate Degradation ◽  
Dependent Transport ◽  
The Impact

After an extended delay, the level of acceptance of exogenous phytases by the global chicken-meat industry is now almost complete. Contemporary bacterial phytases degrade phytate primarily in the gizzard. The extent of phytate degradation determines the extent to which phytate-bound phosphorus (P) is liberated; however, studies designed to investigate phytate degradation along the digestive tract have generated some confusing outcomes. This may be related to the reactivity of the phytate moiety, coupled with problems with inert dietary markers and perhaps a lack of complete and uniform extractions of phytate from digesta due to variations in digesta pH and phytate solubility. Quite recently, phytase was shown to have profound impacts on sodium (Na) digestibility coefficients in four segments of the small intestine. This has obvious implications for intestinal uptakes of glucose and amino acids via their respective Na+-dependent transport systems and it is possible that phytate and phytase have reciprocal impacts on ‘sodium pump’ (Na+, K+-ATPase) activity. It has been recently demonstrated unequivocally that phytase has the capacity to increase amino acid digestibility coefficients to the extent that phytase may generate a ‘proximal shift’ in the sites of amino acid absorption. The impact of phytase on starch digestibility is more equivocal and phytase responses may stem more from enhanced glucose absorption rather than starch digestion. The acceptance of phytase is hardly surprising, given its capacity to increase P utilisation coupled with numerous other positive influences that are still being properly realised.

scholarly journals The Impact of a Negative Media Event on Public Attitudes Towards Animal Welfare in the Red Meat Industry

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxine Rice ◽  
Lauren M. Hemsworth ◽  
Paul H. Hemsworth ◽  
Grahame J. Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Red Meat ◽  
Meat Industry ◽  
Media Campaign ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social License ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact

Public perception of livestock industries and consumer trust in farmers can affect consumer behaviour and impact on social license to farm. Coincidental with a large random telephone survey of Australian public attitudes and behaviour towards the red meat industry, a media campaign exposing animal cruelty in live export of sheep by sea, occurred. Data collected from the nationwide survey of the public attitudes immediately before (n = 278 respondents) and after (n = 224 respondents) this media campaign was utilised in the present study to examine the effects of the media campaign on the public. In general, respondents’ attitudes towards the red meat industry were positive. Independent t-tests revealed no significant differences between those respondents that completed the survey before or after the 60 Minutes programme in their concern for sheep or beef cattle welfare, attitudes to red meat farming, acceptability of the red meat industry or their trust in farmers in the red meat industry. However, prior to the media campaign, respondents believed sheep to be more comfortable when transported by boats than did respondents who completed the survey after the media campaign. More respondents after the 60 Minutes programme cited social and internet media as a source of information. Therefore, despite the wide media coverage associated with the 60 Minutes programme, these results indicate little effect on the public’s attitudes towards farm animal welfare and the red meat industry. The significant impacts of the programme were reflected in increased community discussion, increased social media activity and an increase in the perceived importance of conditions aboard boats used for live sheep transport.

scholarly journals Production standards and the quality of milk and meat products from cattle and sheep raised in sustainable production systems

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Jovanovic ◽  
M. Savic ◽  
S. Aleksic ◽  
D. Zivkovic
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Meat Products ◽  
Product Yield ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Organic Milk ◽  
Quality Of Milk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Cattle And Sheep

Basic principles that inform organic livestock production are reviewed in this paper, with special emphasis on milk and meat production in cattle and sheep. Research findings to date are presented on the impact of various management practices, both organic and conventional, as they effect product yield and quality. The importance of incorporating autochnochous breeds into organic milk and meat production systems is particularly emphasized. Additionally, a global overview of organic milk and meat production is given, along with an assessment of opportunities for implementing organic production systems in Serbia.

scholarly journals Meat production in developing countries

1999 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Gill
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Spreadsheet Models ◽  
The Impact

Developing countries have very diverse food consumption patterns and agricultural production systems. The proportion of meat in national diets varies from negligible in some countries in central Africa to 30–40% in some countries in Latin America and Mongolia. However, the demand for meat in developing countries is increasing rapidly (53%/year from 1982 to 1993), as the result of population growth and the trend for people to move to the cities. Growth rates in consumption are greatest in Asia, with China dominating the statistics, in view of the size of its population. Theoretically, livestock production can be increased to meet this demand, but the multiple roles of livestock in developing countries must be recognized if this is to be achieved in a sustainable manner. Resource-poor farmers who keep livestock may value more highly their contribution to livelihoods and to crop production, through provision of draught power and improvements in soil fertility through the recycling of manure, than the production of more meat. Recognition of the goals of the farmer and the wishes of the consumer regarding meat quality need to be reflected in the way in which opportunities for increasing meat production are identified and communicated to farmers. The impact of the global economy on cereal prices, for example, will also influence which interventions will be economically viable. Interpretation of information in an integral manner, using geographical information systems, mathematical models and/or simple spreadsheet models will be an important ingredient in turning scientific knowledge into increased meat production in developing countries.

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