Traditional Livestock Production: Adaptation to Organic Production Systems

This book provides a comprehensive overview of various aspects of sustainable agriculture, such as organic production systems focused on dairy farming of both cattle and sheep, indigenous poultry production, the use of insects in animal feed as a sustainable alternative, the production of lambs in organic grazing systems and the carbon footprint of organic livestock. It also addresses regulatory frameworks, challenges, opportunities and the importance of sustainability in agriculture, understanding why the animal products we consume should come from organic and not industrial sources.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the consumption of organic food in the world led by the United States, Germany and France, being a necessity to seek food free of hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and synthetic growth promoters. Likewise, consumers are paying more and more attention to the treatment of farm animals, that they are free grazing, that the food they receive does not compete with human food (e.g. cereal grains). The demand of these consumers concerned about the origin of the food they buy, promoting more sustainable systems, with healthier food without added substances in their production, respectful of the environment and with the certainty that the animals raised do so with the greatest guarantees of animal welfare, pushes producers to become certified in certified organic production. However, the traditional productions of small producers, backyard economies, generally meet almost all the peculiarities necessary to be certified in organic production and that is why this editorial proposal combines the two production systems that help small producers to continue with the traditional production system, dignifying their work and obtaining better economic returns.

This book is focused with an informative language to the future readers of this book, who can be farmers of traditional production systems, technicians who work with them and who facilitate improvements in their yields favoring better selling prices of their products, researchers in the sector and anyone interested in this type of emerging productions. Those who are interested in understanding how organic livestock farming works, what are the benefits of producing organic animal food, whether milk and its derivatives, as well as poultry meat and eggs, and feeding strategies that allow to be more sustainable with the environment, from extensive grazing and production of organic lamb meat, to the use of new alternative foods (i.e. insects) in organic food, understanding the legislation and regulations for its use.