Organic Feed: A Bottleneck for the Development of the Livestock Sector and Its Transition to Sustainability?
Published:December 3, 2018
Summary
1. Introduction 1.1. Arguments Scheme of the Paper In Figure 1 a graphical abstract is provided in order to facilitate the understanding of the article and its storyline. 1.2. The Global Context: Producing Sustainably in the Face of an Increasing Demand for Animal Protein and the Risk of Food Insecurity The livestock sector is and will be in the spotlight, as it must satis...
Detailed article. Thanks, Mr. Alfredo. Organic way is not going to help and support food security. It is a bottleneck for the development of the livestock sector.
A Ashraf thanks for the comment. What is sure is that in organic farming, animal nutrition is even more important than in conventional systems so that the use of feed additives is more needed and then legislation should be modified. If not, the launch of food miles and other kind of "sustainability" brands will have more sense than organic if we want to produce more sustainably. Sometimes organic can be less sustainable. I don't mind about the brand 'organic' as such, sustainability should be the focus for all of us.
Organic farming--either crops or animal is basically not a feasible way for farmers with limited access to capital or inputs to operate. The ability to get "organic certified" inputs in remote or primitive systems is economically impossible and the ability to source the inputs is unfeasible. Producers with limited resources must proceed in a way that allows them to maximize the resources available at a reasonable cost. They are normally already using "organic" procedures such as manure for fertilizer, local feedstuffs that are available, etc. Their problem is the ability to get resources to allow them to produce in a sustainable, profitable manner. The concept of organic agricultural production using "certified organic" inputs is basically a system based on production which can be sold at a higher value due to it fitting the rules of a system--not producing for a system that allows the production of agricultural products that fit local systems and economical patterns.
Your concern is very valid. Organic agriculture is very different from sustainable agriculture!