Centre for Animal Welfare and Anthrozoology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, , Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK, Departamento de Etología, Fauna Silvestre y Animales de Laboratorio (DEFSAL), Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia (FMVZ), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), , Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico, Fundación CIPAV, , Cra. 25 No. 6-62, Cali, Colombia.
Proc Biol Sci. 2013 Sep 25;280(1771):20132025. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.2025. Print 2013 Nov 22.
What is the future for livestock agriculture in the world? Consumers have concerns about sustainability but many widely used livestock production methods do not satisfy consumers' requirements for a sustainable system. However, production can be sustainable, occurring in environments that: supply the needs of the animals resulting in good welfare, allow coexistence with a wide diversity of organisms native to the area, minimize carbon footprint and provide a fair lifestyle for the people working there. Conservation need not just involve tiny islands of natural vegetation in a barren world of agriculture, as there can be great increases in biodiversity in farmed areas. Herbivores, especially ruminants that consume materials inedible by humans, are important for human food in the future. However, their diet should not be just ground-level plants. Silvopastoral systems, pastures with shrubs and trees as well as herbage, are described which are normally more productive than pasture alone. When compared with widely used livestock production systems, silvopastoral systems can provide efficient feed conversion, higher biodiversity, enhanced connectivity between habitat patches and better animal welfare, so they can replace existing systems in many parts of the world and should be further developed.
畜牧业在世界范围内的未来会是怎样的呢？消费者对可持续性有所担忧，但许多广泛使用的畜牧业生产方法并不能满足消费者对可持续系统的要求。然而，生产是可以可持续的，可以在以下环境中进行：满足动物的需求，从而实现良好的福利；允许与当地多样化的生物共存；最大限度地减少碳足迹；为在那里工作的人们提供公平的生活方式。保护措施不一定只涉及贫瘠农业世界中微小的自然植被岛屿，因为在养殖区可以大大增加生物多样性。草食动物，尤其是反刍动物，以人类无法食用的物质为食，对人类未来的食物很重要。然而，它们的饮食不应仅仅局限于地面植物。本文描述了具有灌木和树木以及草本植物的林牧系统，与单纯的草地相比，这种系统通常更具生产力。与广泛使用的畜牧业生产系统相比，林牧系统可以提供高效的饲料转化、更高的生物多样性、增强栖息地斑块之间的连通性以及更好的动物福利，因此可以替代世界许多地区现有的系统，并且应该得到进一步发展。
