UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL JOSÈ FAUSTINO SÀNCHEZ CARRIÒN

Instituto de Idiomas
Name: MADALEINE RUBI MELO HUAMAN Date: 8/7/23

WRITING

HOW CAN CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECT ANIMALS?

The livestock sector faces a paradox. On the one hand, it is attributed the generation of GHG,
according to data from the FAO, since worldwide the production of bovine meat and milk is
responsible for the majority of emissions, since it contributes with 41 and 29 %, respectively, of
the sector's emissions. Pork and poultry eggs contribute between 9 and 8% of the sector's
emissions. Feed production and processing and enteric fermentation due to ruminant animals
are the two main sources of emissions, responsible for 45 and 39% of the sector's emissions.
The storage and processing of manure represents 10%. The remaining part is attributed to the
processing and transportation of livestock products. On the other hand, food production
contributes 40% of the value of world agricultural production and sustains the livelihoods and
food security of almost 1.3 billion people in the world. In many developing countries, livestock
farming is a multifunctional activity; Beyond their direct role in generating food and income,
livestock are a valuable asset, serving as a reserve of wealth, collateral for credit, and an
essential safety net in times of crisis. Due to its importance, it is relevant to analyze the impact
of climate change on livestock production systems. This analysis is important because in this
system the social, environmental and economic converge. The effects of climate change will
have a direct impact on the social organization of the production units, on food security and on
human and animal health. From a social perspective, taking into account local specificities, the
effects of climate change on agricultural production will depend, among other factors, on the
type of system, whether intensive or extensive. Intensive systems obtain 90% of their livestock
feed from external systems; They are dedicated to the production of a single species, managing
high densities per unit area, they use cereal-based balanced feed, so that, in these systems, land
is not such an important factor, such as technology; Their production is mainly for sale and they
do not use family labor. On the contrary, extensive production systems are more closely linked
to the natural conditions of the environment, use family labor and their production is mainly for
self-consumption. The production units are small, familiar, and their economic logic is not to
pursue maximum profit, but their tendency is to seek family well-being. Therefore, these
differences in production systems cause opposite impacts. In both production systems, the
difference is due to different factors, among which are the unequal distribution of resources
and conditions for development and the deployment of decision-making capacities; that is, how
vulnerable is a system with respect to climate change.