The recent dairy crisis has once again highlighted the supply chain is broken. To fix we all need to take responsibility and that starts with truly valuing food.
Whilst the RSPCA is copping a lot of flak for becoming involved in animal rights campaigns no-one can deny the considerable merit in the supply chain model that “truly truly encompasses the concept of sustainability? ” wish list put forward by their Senior Scientific officer Melina Tensen
A supply chain that:
- is supported by a government that takes a leadership role in animal welfare and dedicates resources to progressing national animal welfare standards and animal welfare research;
- is supported by a government that recognises the importance of productive land, access to water and renewable resources to the production of food and therefore prioritises climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation;
- acknowledges that food production and consumption should avoid negative environmental, health or social impacts;
- is research-driven and innovative in its use of technology;
- recognises that food waste is an unacceptable consequence of food production and seeks opportunities to reduce or eliminate wastage at each stage of the chain;
- pays farmers a fair price for the food they produce, that allows farmers to invest in improving infrastructure, to take measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change, to manage their land for future generations, to ensure staff are trained and competent, to provide a high level of animal welfare, as well as earn a decent living;
- recognises that food is valuable because the cost of production needs to take into account all the resources required to produce it and the impact its production has on those resources;
- believes good animal welfare is an inherent part of livestock production and provides animals with a life worth A life that encompasses good nutrition, a suitable environment, good health, the ability to express innate behaviours, and the opportunity to experience positive affective states (Mellor and Beausoleil 2015).
All those with an interest in the food supply chain should work together towards achieving a sustainable livestock production system that sees no party disadvantaged – least of all the animals we farm for food. Livestock production in Australia should be focussed on creating a high-value product with strong environmental, human health and animal welfare credentials, which is reflective of the true cost of production.
Its time to acknowledge we are all in this together. The recent dairy crisis has once again highlighted the supply chain is broken. To fix we all need to take responsibility and that starts with truly valuing food.
Between 30 to 50% of food produced for human consumption is wasted globally (FAO n.d.; IME 2013). In Australia, at household level alone, it is estimated that 20% of all food purchased is discarded (Foodwise n.d.). This is an appalling statistic. Wastage also occurs at retailer level, in food service, and further down the supply chain during storage, slaughter, lairage, transport and on farm. Food waste represents a waste of resources and, in the case of animal-based foods, a waste of an animal’s life. ASAP Animal Production 2016, Adelaide Certain foods are generally so cheap that some consumers don’t think twice before throwing it in the shopping trolley – $1/litre milk, or $5 chicken, or $3 cage eggs. If food is cheap, then it’s not surprising to see wastage. Throwing cheap food in the bin is just as easy as throwing it in the shopping trolley … Melinna Tensen
Its time to say cheap food at rock bottom prices and wastage are no longer an option
#stopwaste #valuefood #dairylove #takeresponsibility #wisefoodchoices
Lynne, I’ve made this point before but I cannot see any way to reconcile what you have said here with the realities of a supply system that is driven to do the exact opposite.
Some salient points you raise:
“a government that takes a leadership role in animal welfare”
“recognises that food waste is an unacceptable consequence of food production and seeks opportunities to reduce or eliminate wastage at each stage of the chain”
“to provide a high level of animal welfare”
“believes good animal welfare is an inherent part of livestock production and provides animals with a life worth living”
“a sustainable livestock production system that sees no party disadvantaged – least of all the animals we farm for food”
The industry exists to make money, not to provide a sustainable system that protects the interests of small players or the animals involved. Unlike most industries, livestock farming directly impacts living creatures who are the grist for its mill.
The pressures of a modern economic system see a worldwide trend towards greater corporatisation and an inevitable drive to incorporate the lowest possible production cost for the greatest possible return. When this happens to the livestock industry, the end result cannot be in the interests of the animals, or perhaps the small-scale farmer.
I think you are deluding yourself if you genuinely think it is possible to turn that back as long as the focus is on growing demand at every turn. What exactly IS your concept of “sustainability”? Mine would be to reduce demand, ensure that production meets demand, not outscales it, and stop looking for every opportunity to find new markets when that simply adds to the commensurate demand for increasing intensiveness of operations.
A commenter at Milkmaid Marian’s said recently:
“The small farmer is going to go broke, milk, beef, market farm have to be swallowed up and turned into massive corporatized conglomerates to suit the Wall street investors. It happened in Americas mid west and it is happening here. Thanks to globalisation.”
This IS happening. Already we have intensive pig farming operations which directly cause immense harm to the animals concerned, animals that no human being needs to eat. Dairy is following suit as you know, with average farm size on the rise. How long before we see dairy go the way of the US? And dairy is another product no human being needs, yet we want to grow demand with the potential for substantial harms to the animals concerned. To say nothing of the inevitable demise of the small-scale family run farm. You are cutting your own throats with an industry hell bent on growth and expansion, or so it looks to me looking from the outside in.
Going back to those points I quoted.
“a government that takes a leadership role in animal welfare”. I seriously doubt it. Live Export proves that, but so too does the weakness of the CoPs and the slowness of the move to replace these with more informative standards. As Barnaby Joyce said not so very long ago, with a real sense of puzzlement: “it’s just a cow”… And we are seeing the rise of Ag-gag legislation – that’s not the sign of a government who wants to lead in regard to animal welfare.
“recognises that food waste is an unacceptable consequence of food production and seeks opportunities to reduce or eliminate wastage at each stage of the chain”. Really? No-one cares about waste. Are you going to close down Maccas and seriously encourage consumers to reduce consumption? No.
“to provide a high level of animal welfare”. This is a joke. No-one seriously cares about this at all. There is A level of welfare, but it’s not what I would call high. Of course it could be worse and my fear is that the pressure to produce more will lead to exactly that.
“believes good animal welfare is an inherent part of livestock production and provides animals with a life worth living”. Tell that to the pigs and chickens and ducks and turkeys and baby calves and lambs and…
“a sustainable livestock production system that sees no party disadvantaged – least of all the animals we farm for food”. If being bred to die, and quite soon if you are a lamb, a bobby calf, or a pig is not being disadvantaged, I don’t know what is. So please don’t suggest that this is a significant factor in the livestock production system. EVERY animal in the system is disadvantaged and they sure don’t have a union to protect them.
I’m sorry, but I cannot even begin to see how this post makes any sense in the current context. Your final comment sums up my scepticism:
“Its time to acknowledge we are all in this together. The recent dairy crisis has once again highlighted the supply chain is broken. To fix we all need to take responsibility and that starts with truly valuing food.”
No-one VALUES food in the West, least of all the industry bodies. Because for decades now we have pursued a relentless strategy of making food into a leisure product. Because there is a quid in it.
And for decades now, millions upon millions of harmless defenceless animals – the weak and voiceless – have suffered for it. And now that the farmers are suffering, we hear of this concern to fix a system you broke yourselves. If you truly cared and wanted a sustainable and humane system, you’d join with people like me and encourage consumers to eat sparingly, to reduce animal consumption, and start to look for less harmful and more responsible food sources.
Sorry about that rant, I shouldn’t write these things late at night. I find the RSPCA’s position on this strangely inconsistent but that’s likely due to my personal opposition to the livestock industry.
What I wanted to ask is how exactly we could change the situation? You said “Its time to say cheap food at rock bottom prices and wastage are no longer an option”. What would need to happen to achieve this?
Good morning Graeme
I have a big picture vision for how this could happen and will meet with stakeholders shortly to explore – but to be perfectly honest at this point in time I am more concerned that too many Australians decided Pauline Hanson should have a voice and power
many thanks Lynne
That sounds intriguing, I hope you post on this eventually. Lynne, I’ve made it clear where my feelings lie in respect to livestock farming, but I’ve also mentioned before how difficult it can be to get a balanced perspective. Sometimes I’d like to be able to gain a better insight into the industry itself from those who are part of it. Would you be interested in corresponding occasionally about that? Not for me to grind my axe but rather to ask serious questions about some of what I’ve read. If you would, please email me at gmc99@bigpond.com. Oh, and maybe don’t publish this comment of mine given my email address is in it… 🙂
On the matter of needing to have a more balanced perspective, this is an example I’ve just come across. This young girl apparently has been bullied over her views, which is rather sad. I watched her video and I found her thoughts somewhat naive, but also relatively accurate in a broad sense. But some of what she says is probably not true. There were a few people who responded to her inaccuracies with comprehensive critiques (see comments on Youtube), but those also appeared to contain inaccuracies of their own. It would be interesting to see a far more responsible, accurate, and objective discussion, because clearly the issue is quite polarising. I’m coming to realise that it’s not as simple as saying dairy farmers need to “transition” to cropping, but equally it’s not as simple as just arguing that dairy is critical to health and we gotta do it.
http://www.peta.org.au/news/bullied-schoolgirl-kaila-mackay/
https://youtu.be/G14mDSSlwvw