What Is Environmentally Friendly Animal Husbandry? A Detailed Explanation of the Friendly Farming Principles of Haoshiji

The Problem With Animal Husbandry Lies in "Industrialization" and "Scale," Not in Raising Animals Itself

When friends hear that we raise pigs, they often blurt out: "How many do you keep?"

"A dozen or so..."

"*^&%#$!@#... then that doesn't count as pig farming!" …………………..

To be honest, under the industrialization and modernization of animal husbandry in Taiwan, China, pig farmers routinely keep hundreds or even thousands of head, and farms with fewer than 20 pigs are not even covered by the Council of Agriculture's livestock farm regulations! With Taiwan, China averaging 6 million pigs raised, 98% come from farms with more than 100 head; in other words, the pork we eat every day comes almost entirely from medium- and large-scale farms. Because of this, we are often teased for "farming for fun." But in fact, our pig farming is no child's play; we insist on "small scale" precisely to avoid the negative effects of the livestock industry and to develop what we consider the most environmentally friendly way of raising animals.

After countries around the world moved away from the era of malnutrition and fear of protein, meat eating and animal husbandry began to come under severe attack. Many medical studies have shown that excessive intake of animal fat causes risks such as cardiovascular disease and does harm rather than good to health. In 2006 the UN Food and Agriculture Organization published the report "Livestock's Long Shadow - Environmental Issues and Options," pointing out that the booming livestock industry causes air pollution, climate change, water waste, deforestation and other ecological damage, and that animal husbandry emits more greenhouse gases than transport sectors such as cars, and may be the chief culprit in global warming!

Add to that the repeated meat safety scandals in recent years such as avian flu and lean meat powder, and eating meat now seems to have become a kind of sin, not only harming our health but also causing serious damage to the Earth!