The topic was debated at an event in Rome, starting from the proposed law on the transition away from intensive livestock farming. Contributions from producers, doctors, vets, researchers and politicians.
They deplete and degrade soil, pollute water, emit greenhouse gases, reduce biodiversity, cause animal suffering, increase the risk of epidemics and generate particulate matter: intensive livestock farms are an unsustainable production model for the environment, animals and people. The reasons why this system must be overcome, and how to do so, were discussed on 24 October at a debate organised in Rome by the environmental associations Greenpeace, Wwf Italia, Isde Medici per l'Ambiente, Lipu e Terra!, which are the promoters of the proposed law AC 1760 "for the progressive agroecological transition of intensive livestock farming". The bill was published on the Chamber of Deputies website on 23 July, bearing the signatures of 21 members of parliament from five different political groups.
The aim of the event is to keep attention on the issue and to bring about a scheduling of the parliamentary debate on the bill as soon as possible. The proposed legislation immediately calls for a moratorium on the opening of new intensive livestock farms and on increases in the number of animals kept at existing ones. To encourage the ecological transition of large and medium-sized enterprises, it also provides for a sector-wide conversion plan financed through a dedicated fund, and seeks to place small farms at the heart of a model based on agroecological techniques, efficient use of resources, access to healthy, quality food, and the creation of supply chains that guarantee fair remuneration for workers and producers.
At the conference, a motion was launched for Italian municipal councils to strengthen the participation of local communities in managing the territories affected by the environmental and socio-health impacts of intensive livestock farming. One example is the municipality of Viterbo, a territory where agriculture is an added value, but which is today grappling with the expansion of intensive poultry farming: in one district of the town there are more than one million chickens — 387 per resident. "We hope that a possible law can give us the tools to carry out territorial planning, because urban planning regulations are not enough to regulate and limit intensive livestock farming," said mayor Chiara Frontini. "For now, we have rolled up our sleeves and, together with the Order of Agronomists and the university, we are drawing up a shared protocol to promote a model of economic development that is sustainable for the environment and biodiversity."
Anna Federici, from the Boccea farm in Rome, shared her hands-on experience: "Switching to agroecology on my farm seemed like the only possible path. It is a systemic approach that is in balance with local resources, and it works better the more self-sufficient it is and the more capable of networking with other farmers. We grow cereals for human consumption and partly for the animals; we have land set aside for grazing where you can clearly see how the soil has become a sponge rich in organic matter and humus. It is a system that takes time, but does not necessarily require more resources once it is up and running. Today there are laws that, for example, do not allow us to make compost the way it should be made; there is a need for funds for fencing, water management, and training in cross-cutting skills."
"A different model of livestock farming is possible," explained Elia Marabotto, a vet. "The agroecological model adapts to the local ecosystem; it is based on respect for animal ethology and physiology, promotes soil fertility so that it can store carbon and retain water, and combines livestock production with crop production, creating more resilient farms by diversifying income streams. Animals are fed on local forage rather than imported soya, which, once it enters the composition of slurry, disrupts the ecosystem balance. Agroecological farming also yields animal-derived products that are more nutritious, richer in carotenoids, vitamin E, antioxidants and saturated fatty acids."
As Laura Reali, director of Isde Italia – Associazione italiana medici per l'ambiente and president of Ecpcp (European Confederation of Primary Care Paediatricians), stressed: "Intensively farmed animals cannot be healthy, and can only yield meat full of antibiotics, pesticides and supplements — substances that can reach those who consume it, leading to an increase in pathologies. Moreover, we do not need all the meat being produced today: the quantities recommended to meet a child's needs are, for example, 30 g of protein per day."
A question of overproduction and overconsumption that also connects to the problem of food waste, raised by Silvio Franco, professor of natural resource and environmental economics at the University of Tuscia: "Food security is a false issue when you consider that today we waste a third of all the food produced in the world, and that if we recovered it we could feed more people. We should be avoiding waste rather than increasing productivity: those are the serious measures to be taken." Franco also raised the question of using impact indicators specific to agriculture: "The farm is the only enterprise that has natural capital within its business capital; an ecological balance sheet of resources and impact is needed."
Also speaking at the event were Michela Vittoria Brambilla, chair of the cross-party parliamentary group for animal rights and environmental protection, and Eleonora Evi, a member of the VIII Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, who spoke about the need to address these issues — currently absent from the political agenda — with courage and without looking the other way. Further contributions came from Emilio Borrelli, AVS MP, Alessandro Caramiello, Pianeta 2050 M5S, Roberto Colombero, president of Uncem (Unione nazionale comuni comunità enti montani) Piemonte and mayor of Marmora (CN), and Famiano Crucianelli, president of the biodistretto della via Amerina e delle Forre. Representing their respective organisations were Federica Luoni, Lipu agriculture officer, Ilaria Scarpetta, institutional affairs office of WWF Italia, and Fabio Ciconte, director of Associazione Terra!.