This report, entitled ‘What’s at Steak? The Real Cost of Meat’ published by the Global Forest Coalition in December 2016, emphasises the negative impact of industrial livestock production on forests, using five detailed case studies, in Bolivia, Brazil, India, Paraguay, and Russia. In South America, for example, the report states that 71% of deforestation in the region has been driven by demand for livestock products.
It argues that transforming the industrial livestock sector should be a key objective for international organisations such as the FAO, the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The report calls on governments to support and promote existing alternatives to the factory-farming model such as agroecology, agroforestry, and extensive traditional pastoralist practices. It further argues for the removal of ‘perverse’ government incentives supporting industrial production, also highlighting changes in consumption as a key area to focus on.
The report and its executive summary can be downloaded here.
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