Touwen, Sebo (2023) A Narrative Review on Intensive Animal Farming: a Planetary Health Perspective on Co-benefits. Bachelor thesis, Global Responsibility & Leadership (GRL).
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Abstract
Intensive animal farming is one of the major industries contributing to the current global poly-crisis. The industry relates to the farming of crowded groups of animals, often in an indoor environment using external food sources and often growth promoters, antibiotics and other rather “unnatural” products. There is a necessity of understanding the complex relationship of humanity with our surrounding ecosystem and how our interaction with the planet reflects back on us and our health. Co-benefits are additional beneficial outcomes of an action, which are often beyond the direct benefits of the action. Research on co-benefits is gaining popularity as it aims to give the reader and policymakers a more complete understanding of a suggested action, often including environmental, social and economic aspects. The paper aims to answer the following research question: “What are the co-benefits relating to environmental and human health of reducing intensive animal farming; from a planetary health perspective?”. A wide range of literature has been used to build an argument on the importance of reducing intensive animal farming in obtaining a co-benefit for human and planetary health. The paper identifies the following co-benefits relating to the reduction of intensive animal farming: Limiting human-induced climate change, promoting healthy (water- and soil-dependent) ecosystems, sustaining our interdependent relationship with the ecosystem and its services, increasing animal welfare, limiting health risks caused by exposure to antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and (synthetic) hormones, limiting the risk of new emerging zoonoses, suggesting a healthy nutritional shift limiting health risks associated to diet and limiting food insecurity. Intensive animal farming, representing the efficiency-based society, might need rethinking to obtain co-benefits and to achieve planetary health.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Name supervisor: | Gallo, V. |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Sep 2023 09:36 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Sep 2023 09:36 |
| URI: | https://campus-fryslan.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/256 |
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