Multifunctional animal husbandry (MAH) represents an innovative, holistic approach to solving the pressing problems of current livestock farming in the dimensions of society, ecology and animal ethics. It illustrates how closely the welfare of humans and animals are inter-linked and that a fundamental paradigm shift in animal husbandry is both possible and necessary.

The potential analysis for Germany shows that an MAH could cover the nutritionally recommended demand for milk (220-965 g per day) and the current consumption of beef (147-235 g per week), despite lower overall production than in the current system. This underlines the need to reduce the consumption of animal products to a level that meets nutritional requirements. The feed potential is based on grassland, by-products and necessary rotational crops and does not include human-edible feed.

Read the paper

I grew up on a cattle farm in Northern Germany, but for the past 10 years I haven’t consumed any meat, eggs or dairy. Nontheless there are reasons for chosing certain animal products in the right quantity, even beef, at least from an environmental point of view. Cattle don’t deserve the bad reputation they’ve been getting.

An oversimplified view on the food system and parts of it like beef and dairy can cause bigger environmental problems, just by pointing out the wrong culprit. Cattle are often critized for emitting methane. However, different origins of methane and the natural carbon cycle show that the most used metric to quantify greenhouse gas emissions (GWP100) doesn’t display the real warming effects of methane. And in the end cows (and their methane) are not responsible for our climate, environmental and social problems: it’s us and our overconsumption.

Ironically, blaming methane could lead to more animals ending up in factory farms and slaughterhouses. So who is it helping?