A fifth of world meat, milk and egg production lost to disease annually
The Dietary Needs Improved Livestock Or 8 Agricultural Alternatively Billion Significantly 1 Of Meet Health Extra Could Emissions Reduce People
One-fifth of livestock production around the world is lost to disease each year, and reducing that (from 20% to 10%) could remove 800 million tonnes of livestock emissions (equivalent to the average annual carbon footprint of 117 million Europeans).
This could also meet the dietary needs of 1.8 billion extra people.
The benefits of reducing livestock disease have been calculated by the Oxford Analytica international consulting firm, working for HealthforAnimals, which represents the animal health industry.
Oxford Analytica used data covering 180 countries from 2005 to 2022, sourced from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly OIE) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.
The analysis showed that animal disease significantly reduces the global productivity of livestock farming, particularly in developing regions where protections against disease may be minimal.
It was calculated that in one year (2018), disease was associated with a 2.8 million tonne reduction in global poultry production. Based on global per capita poultry consumption of 15.8 kg, the lost poultry meat was enough to feed 180 million people for a year.
Poultry is the most widely consumed meat.
Also in 2018, disease was associated with a 3m-tonne reduction in global egg production, which cost producers $5.6bn. The equivalent of about four times the UK’s annual egg consumption was lost.
The annual production lost is equivalent to the meat consumption of 1.6bn people. Based on average meat prices, livestock producers lost $264bn to disease in 2020.
The Oxford Analytica report included an FAO estimate that the total carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from cattle, poultry and other food-related animals, at 7.1 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent, could fall between 18% and 30%, if all livestock farmers took up the same working practices as their colleagues who are the lowest emission producers.
Scaling up existing animal health and husbandry practices could reduce global human-induced emissions by 2.6%, and could comfortably feed a world population of over 9bn in 2050, while holding emissions to current levels.
There are various methods to protect animals from disease. Cattle farmers can use vaccination, biosecurity measures, improved housing and nutrition, and modern genetics. For example, vaccines offer a reliable way for farmers to prevent disease in their animals.
The FAO has estimated that “advanced genetics, feeding systems, animal health controls and other technologies over the past four decades allowed industrialised countries to reduce their overall land requirements for livestock by 20%, while doubling meat production”.
Meat and egg production in economically poorer countries is disproportionately affected by the spread of disease. More developed countries have more sophisticated agricultural infrastructure, including mechanisms to identify and treat disease among animals rapidly, and their well-kept animals have a higher degree of resilience against diseases.
