Sustainable livestock practices aim to produce food based on animals while safeguarding the environment, ensuring animal welfare, and enhancing local communities. Sustainable livestock practices work towards minimizing the ecological impact of animal husbandry while maintaining food security, rural livelihoods, and economic resilience.
Major sustainable practices are rotational grazing, crop-livestock integrated systems, feed efficiency, and manure management. Rotational grazing prevents overgrazing, ensures healthy pastures, and enhances soil quality. Crop-livestock integrated systems enable nutrient recycling—livestock manure fertilizes soil, minimizing chemical fertilizers.
Animal health is another pillar, with systems that enhance natural behavior, proper nutrition, and prevention of disease without excessive use of antibiotics. Feed strategies with lower emissions of methane, like enhanced forage or feed additives, also contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions from ruminant livestock.
Technology and innovation, like precision livestock farming, facilitate farmers to better monitor animal health and resource utilization. Supporting local breeds and community-based systems also maintains biodiversity and cultural values.
Sustainable livestock systems can help mitigate climate change, protect the environment, and promote resilience in the food system—making them critical for a sustainable future in agriculture.