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The devastating environmental impact of macro-farms in Spain
by David Bird
Could manufactured meat be the answer to the problems generated by intensive farming?
The industrial livestock sector in Spain has created controversy for many years due to its fierce environmental impact, and macro pig farms are once again in the spotlight following comments from the Minister of Consumption, Alberto Garzon, that Spain exports "poor quality" meat that comes from "ill-treated" animals. With widespread claims of animal abuse, contamination of underground water and excessive CO2 generation, many experts point out that this intensive farming is the direct opposite of what traditional, sustainable and environmentally friendly livestock represents.
Pig farms with more than 2,000 head or more than 750 breeding sows with piglets have to be catalogued in the State Register of Pollutant Emissions and Sources (PRTR). There are currently around 3,000 of these facilities in Spain and so-called macro-farms emitted 96,158 tonnes of methane in 2019 alone – that's 45% of the total emissions from all pig farming in the country.
These set-ups are designed to fatten up the animals until they reach the appropriate weight to be sent to the slaughterhouse, but they leave a wave of destruction in their wake. The slurry (organic waste produced by the pigs) seeps into the subsoil and consequently gets washed into the aquifiers. The material typically contains a high level of nitrates that pollutes the water.
These macro-farms have also been blamed for the destruction of a huge amount of forest land due to the amount of space needed to grow crops to feed the animals, and deforestation increases CO2 emissions significantly.
It comes as no surprise that the union representing livestock farmers has greatly played down the impact of macro-farms, concluding that in Spain the sector only generates 8% of greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 27% from transport, 19% from industry and 17% from energy generation.
Moreover, the union claims that it "is hypocritical to put the overall emphasis on 2,800 Spanish intensive livestock farms and not on the six million air conditioners that we have operating in Spain in August."
The unavoidable fact, according to many experts, is that, at a climactic level, food that comes from animals accounts for 45% of the carbon footprint of this country; each person generates 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per year by consuming meat.
To combat this environmental impact, Future Meats is developing a revolutionary meat product that is artificially manufactured without using actual animals. Their meat is made up of natural animal cells without genetic modifications and, unlike plant-based imitation products, it has exactly the same composition as animal meat.
While the company is still a long way off from being able to replicate world-famous Galician beef steaks or a Guijuelo ham in a factory, its overall aim is to reduce our dependency on the kind of intensive farming that is such a cause for concern in Spain.
"Our mission is to create a more sustainable future for generations. Our technology can produce meat on a fraction of the land that is currently used for meat production," Future Meats claims.
Image: Archive
Source: Murcia Today
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