Growing global appetite for meat stretches resources, warns UN

Urgent investment is needed in the global livestock sector, especially in China, to support the one billion people whose livelihood depends on it, the United Nations warned on Thursday. The sector must must ensure the sector meets growing demand for meat and other animal products in countries such as China, the Rome- based UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said its annual report.

But major research is also required to mitigate environmental and health concerns associated with the keeping of cattle, goats and sheep, the FAO said in the latest edition of its State of Food and Agriculture report which covers 2009.

"The rapid transition of the livestock sector has been taking place in an institutional void," FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf in the report's foreword.

"The issue of governance is central. Identifying and defining the appropriate role of government, in its broadest sense, is the cornerstone on which future development of the livestock sector must build," he added.

The livestock sector is one of the fastest growing parts of the agricultural economy, contributing 40 per cent of the global value of agricultural production, the report stressed.

Globally, livestock contributes 15 per cent of total food energy and 25 per cent of dietary protein.

Products from livestock provide essential micronutrients that are not easily obtained from other plant food products,the FAO said.

Rising incomes, population growth and urbanization are the driving forces behind a growing demand for meat products in developing countries, it added.

To meet rising demand, global annual meat production is expected to expand from currently 228 to 463 million tons by 2050 with the cattle population estimated to grow from 1.5 billion to 2.6 billion and that of goats and sheep from 1.7 billion to 2.7 billion, according to FAO estimates.

Strong demand for animal food products offers significant opportunities for livestock to contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction.

The most substantial growth in per capita consumption of livestock products has occurred in East and Southeast Asia. China, in particular, has seen per capita consumption of meat quadruple, consumption of milk increase tenfold, and egg consumption increase eightfold.

Per capita consumption of livestock products in the rest of East and Southeast Asia has also grown significantly, particularly in the North Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam.

But many smallholders are facing several challenges in remaining competitive with larger, more intensive production systems, FAO warned.

In particular higher animal-health and food-safety standards are improving public health, but are also widening the gap between small livestock keepers and large commercial producers, the report said.

FAO recommends that smallholders, especially women, should be supported in taking advantage of the opportunities provided by an expanding livestock sector and in managing the risks associated with increasing competition.

Also, broader rural development strategies creating off-farm jobs should help those that may be unable to adapt and compete in a rapidly modernizing sector.

The report also referred to the growing environmental issues associated with livestock production, including the growing use of cereals and oilseeds to produce fossil fuel substitutes - ethanol and biodiesel - that represents a "significant challenge" for the livestock sector in terms of competition for resources.

The goal, according to the FAO report, is to ensure that continued growth in livestock production does not create undue pressure on ecosystems, biodiversity, land and forest resources and water quality; and does not contribute to global warming.

While some countries have made progress in reducing pollution and deforestation associated with livestock production, many more require appropriate policies and enforcement capacity, it noted.

Market-based policies, such as taxes and fees for natural-resource use or payments for environmental services, would encourage producers to ensure that livestock production is carried out in a sustainable way.

The FAO report also stressed the need to combat animal diseases, in particular because of the threats they pose to humans.

The most serious health threat is that of a human pandemic, recently highlighted by the outbreak of a new strain of influenza, A(H1N1), containing genetic material from human, swine and poultry viruses.

While the economic threats from livestock diseases and their treatment may be "less dramatic, they too may exact a high cost in terms of human welfare and can pose livelihood risks for smallholders," the report said.

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