When Livestock Are Good for the Environment

"Livestock producers are coming in for increasing criticism world- wide on the grounds that livestock production is bad for the environment. Mention 'cattle' and 'developing countries' in the same breath, and many will immediately think of overgrazing, desertification, and deforestation. But the environmental consequences of livestock production vary widely, depending on the opportunities and constraints afforded by different production systems, institutional and policy contexts. Focusing principally on pastoral grazing systems and integrated crop- livestock systems, this paper examines the less widely documented case that there are also positive environmental externalities associated with livestock production. Livestock production can play an instrumental role, for example, in supporting sustainable rangeland management, preserving wildlife and other forms of biodiversity, enhancing soil fertility and nutrient cycling, and in directly promoting the amenity value of particular landscapes to other users."