2023-11-08 08:49:17
He dairy sector develops a roadmap so that the activity is increasingly Environmentally friendly, while respecting animal welfarewithout forgetting its commitment to continue offering consumers nutritious, safe and healthy foods.
But should the sector communicate more and better to society to fight myths, hoaxes and misinformation, making public opinion aware of the reality of an activity, with social or environmental benefits that often go unnoticed? Fernando Estellés, doctor of agricultural engineering and member of the Dairy Sustainability Committee, advisory body of the ‘Count on European dairy products’ campaign, promoted by the interprofessional InLac with support from the EU, explains some keys to understanding this debate.
Estellés recalled that all human activities have an environmental impact. Reports of the Interprofessional Dairy Organization (InLac) and the Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology (IRTA) detail that milk production contributes to just 3% to global greenhouse gas emissions. But is it reasonable that only this circumstance is present in the public debate or is it also necessary to understand the activity from a broader and more holistic perspective? And the thing is, when we talk regarding livestock, “we are feeding the population, and it is something that we also have to take into account,” says Estellés. Feeding the European and world population has impacts on the planet’s resources, but at the same time, livestock farming allows us to guarantee a certain food sovereignty in the EU.
For this reason, the agronomist doctor has specified that, “although there is room for improvement at the level of sustainability, the direction that the sector has taken in recent years is promising.” “I always like to highlight that cows, sheep or goats are wonders of evolution. They are machines recycle products that we cannot eatfundamentally when they are grazed, and with that they produce a very high quality food such as milk, which is nutritionally amazing, and which can then also be transformed into cheese, yogurt and other derivatives,” he continues.
What’s more, when the livestock loads are appropriate on these meadows and prairies, “the conservation of the ecosystem is perfect, with even greater potential for biodiversity than a completely abandoned forest”, highlights the agronomist doctor. In this way: “If we manage animals and the soil well, we perceive benefits similar to those generated by wildlife in the environment.
Fernando Estellés: “I always like to highlight that cows, sheep or goats are wonders of evolution. They are machines for recycling products that we cannot eat, mainly when they are grazed, and with that they produce a food of the highest quality such as “milk, which is nutritionally amazing, and which can then also be transformed into cheese, yogurt and other derivatives.”
It emphasizes, in this sense, that dairy farming helps maintain pastures, which are a natural carbon sink, while grazing by cows, sheep and goats also serves to prevent fires. Furthermore, livestock farming and the dairy industry make it possible to sustain the “social fabric” in rural areas “and keep our population alive beyond the big cities.” For this reason, the expert sees it as essential that agriculture and livestock have a future in Europe because “their ability to structure the territory” must be valued.
Estellés praises the social benefits of the activity because “livestock farming consolidates our model and structure of society and country, maintaining a living rural fabric that stops depopulation, without forgetting the importance of food sovereignty, more topical if possible than ever following the problems with the supply of raw materials and their costs that arose following the invasion of Ukraine.”
Animal welfare
He high level of demands, regulations and social sensitivity in the EU in the field of sustainability and animal welfare cannot be extrapolated to what is happening in the rest of the world and, as Estellés explains: “Europe is a true global reference and, in this sense, other countries look askance at us. to learn from us and establish their own regulations. We have become a spearhead and international reference, although this has sometimes had costs for farmers and ranchers.”
Europe has also taken the initiative in the commitments to reduce emissionsespecially since the signing of the Kyoto protocol onwards, and “the EU is the one that has been pushing the most” to fight climate change, he added.
Transparency and visibility
In the opinion of the agronomist doctor, efforts must still be made in this sector so that their way of life is understood and accessible to the urban population. In his opinion, “The livestock sector should provide opportunities for citizens to visit farms, chat with professionals and their workers so that they perceive the real sensitivity they have for the care of animals and their well-being.” And this translates into making visible the enormous improvements introduced, such as the reduction in the use of antibiotics and good management practices throughout the process.
“We have to make more efforts in communicate, inform, disseminate. “The sector must be accessible to society because there is nothing to hide, because it is transparent and its way of life is open to whoever wants to contemplate all the good that lies behind a glass of milk, a piece of cheese or yogurt,” concludes.
1699439502
#European #model #dairy #production #guarantee #animal #welfare #care #environment
