The animals raised, breeders and with them food safety are in a vicious circle: if it is true, in fact, that intensive farms contribute with very high percentages to the climatic crisis, it is also true that it suffers heavy repercussions.
It is that “Climate Vigious Circle”Of which the report clearly speaks Climate Doom Loop: Factory Farming’s Toll On Animals, Farmers and Food (Vicious Circle of the Climate: the cost of intensive breeding on animals, breeders and food) just published by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) on the occasion of the conference on climate change, in progress in these days in Bonn.
The report observes some cases study of extreme climatic events that occurred in various years in various regions of the world-the floods in Emilia-Romagna of 2023-reporting their destructive impact on animals, agricultural production and people.
Millions of animals bred every year due to floods, thunderstorms and heat waves caused by climate change, but the system itself in which they are bred is worsening the situation – declares Annamaria Pisapia, director of Ciwf Italia. These extreme weather events, increasingly frequent, are also catastrophic for people, food safety and the source of sustenance of farmers. To make it short, we are trapped in a vicious circle.
The report
According to the analysis of Ciwf’s study, these disastrous climatic events have caused the death of almost 15 million animals raised for food purposesnegatively affecting 56.4 million peoplefor a cost total Of 120 billion US dollars.
The document lights the spotlight on the little -known victims of climatic disasters: the animals in the farms, many of which are abandoned to themselves, in their cages, to die drowned or suffocated by extreme heat. And in the meantime, he underlines Ciwf, intensive breeding plays an important role in overwhelming climate change.
One of the cases study concerns The flood in Emilia-Romagna of May 2023which had a devastating impact on animals in the farms: over 5,000 farms have been submerged, hitting about 250,000 cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, plus another 400 poultry farms and 45,000 hive. They were estimated Damage to the zootechnical sector for the value of 300-400 million euros.
Other climatic disasters analyzed in the report include:
Food systems generate about A third of the global greenhouse gas emissions. The zootechnical sector, dominated by intensive breeding, produces more direct emissions than all planes, trains and cars of the world put together*. And with the growth of the world population, the pressure on these systems is destined to increase. While some actors propose a “sustainable” intensification of production, 200 climate, nutrition and agriculture experts reject it: 90%, on the other hand, supports the need to reduce meat consumption, especially in global north.
And in Italy? The Emilia Romagna case
The report reserves an interesting focus on what happened in Emilia Romagna with the disastrous flood in 2023. Then, the region recorded unprecedented rainfall that caused serious floods and landslides. The Department of Civil Protection issued a red alert on May 2: in just two days, the equivalent of six months of rain fell. 23 rivers, together with the drainage systems, enhanced, submerging infrastructures in different cities, including Bologna, Ravenna and Rimini.
The total damages were estimated at around 9 billion euros and according to some research, the risk of floods in the region is increasing due to climate change and uncontrolled cementing.
Italy is one of the European areas with the highest climatic risk – reads the study.
Those floods had a devastating impact on the animals raised, most of which are confined to intensive farms. The structures were abandoned during the evacuations, and the animals were trapped in cages and sheds while the water rose, or were overwhelmed by landslides. More than 5,000 farms have been submerged and about 2,000 landslides, 36,000 people evacuated and 700 closed roads. The former president of Emilia-Romagna, Stefano Bonaccini, described the flood as a “catastrophic event”: 250,000 cattle, sheep, goats and pigs were involved, together with about 400 poultry farms and 45,000 hives.
Find the study here.
