This class and pre-lecture material were very intriguing. I think it is very important to change how farming is done to see benefits in both animal welfare and environmental sustainability. I don't think it is impossible to accomplish both tasks simultaneously. The idea of rotating different farm animal species on cultures so that they could have a better quality of life while also using them to mitigate negative impacts on animal/soil health than if they were kept separately is promising. Sustainable agriculture shows promising results when it comes to increases in profits for farmers as well. If soil is healthier, results in more crop yield, and thus generates more income, I believe more farmers would be on board with using different practices. However, switching methods is costly and stressful. We also discussed in class that money is limited and adding subsidies to mitigate the negative effects of other subsidies is not practical when money is finite. So maybe spreading awareness and asking if consumers would prefer to buy goods from sustainable farms encourages farmers to switch to sustainable methods if they know their source of income and living would still be secure.
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Hi Suragan, I think that rotating different farm animal species on cultures is a great way to mitigate the negative impacts on animal and soil health. I also think educating consumers is a great way to get the conversation going, make people more aware of how they consume food products, and encourage farmers to engage in more sustainable farming practices.
Yeah I agree your point on the money limitation and its effects on farmers' willingness to switch. It is important to keep in mind that farmers have to take a big risk when they choose to switch methods: should the market direction change (whether due to science or social changes), their profit for the year would be massively impacted. So I guess a "sustained" trend towards buying more sustainable products would encourage more farmers to make the decision
I loved the example with the rotation of animals onto the fields and I agree it is possible to come up with solutions accounting for both animal welfare and environmental sustainability.
Nice post! Exploring new and innovative farming practices is a great place to start when aiming towards more sustainable agriculture. You raise a good point that having the money to implement these practices globally is a challenge, so hopefully through spreading awareness this will become a priority!