Page 258 - The Welfare of Cattle

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Sustainability, the environment, and animal Welfare

Shawn L. Archibeque
Colorado State University

CONteNtS
Sustainability and Environmental Protection .................................................................................235
Hormonal Growth Promotants .......................................................................................................239
Human Metabolism of Hormones/Toxicological Implications ......................................................240
Sex Steroids in Farm Animals (Metabolism, Excretion, and Environmental Implications) ..........240
Hormones and Nutrient Use ...........................................................................................................244
Take-Home Message ......................................................................................................................245
References ......................................................................................................................................245

SUStaINaBILItY aND eNVIrONMeNtaL PrOteCtION

There has been a great deal of interest in the concept of sustainable food production for many
different reasons. The predominant force driving this debate is the rise of the global human popula-
tion first above 7 billion in 2011 and a projected increase to greater than 9 billion by 2050 (United
Nations, 2016). To support this exponential growth, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO, 2013) has predicted that demand for fiber, food, and fuel will increase by 60%
of current production quantities. Most of this growth is predicted to occur primarily in the less-
developed regions of the world. The production of these increased needs will have to be conducted
in a “sustainable” manner to avoid the collapse of a given population. Unfortunately, sustainability
is what has been characterized as a “wicked problem.” As defined by Churchman (1967), a “wicked
problem” is problem where all of the underlying problems, limitations, and subjectivity associated
with such problems that have no “correct” answer and where one can only do better or worse. With
this understanding, and knowing that sustainability will include the preservation of environmental,
economic, and social resources, rather than argue for the logic model that properly describes sus-
tainability, for the purposes of this manuscript, we will assume that sustainability will include the
ability to optimize nutrient use and minimize waste, while understanding that such a definition is
limited. There is an extensive evaluation of the role of animal food versus human food production
and the role in sustainability (CAST, 2013) that addresses these issues at great depth.
Animal domestication has been widely practiced around the globe for millennia (Zeuner, 1963;
Clutton-Brock, 1999; Price, 2002). As evidenced in the social ethics arguments of Rollin (1992),

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