Better lives through livestock
Sustainable livestock systems:
Appropriate solutions for different contexts
Laura Cramer
Policy Engagement Specialist, International Livestock Research Institute
Protein PACT side event, Sustainable Agriculture of the Americas Pavilion, COP27
Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, 9th Nov. 2022

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Why should we care?
• Narratives around livestock and climate change can be dominated
by the negatives
• Livestock keeping is critical to millions of people for income and
food security
• Climate change is threatening those livelihoods and nutrition

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What livestock are we talking about?

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What livestock are we talking about?

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What livestock are we talking about?

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Frequently used terms, but not equivalent
Intensification
‘Sustainable diet’
Meat
Meat
Livestock
Industrialization
Think only GHGs
Protein
Beef
Cows
≠
≠
≠
≠
≠
Adapted from Tarawali 2022

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Why are livestock so important?
• As part of mixed systems
• Use of marginal lands
• Use as plowing and transport
• Contribution to nutrition
• Contribution to incomes

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Contexts
vary
greatly
https://eu.boell.org/en/2021/09/07/consumption-everyday-food-and-luxury-good

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We need to also consider future trends
• Demand will grow
• We need to help livestock keepers adapt to climate change to
protect their livelihoods and meet this demand

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• Heat stress
• Feed quantity and quality
• Pests and diseases
• Food security
• Household income
Climate change is having devasting effects

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• Breeding for the future
• Addressing feed supply and seasonality issues
• Matching feed supply with demand
• Animal health and disease
• Rangeland management
• Climate info systems
• Financial solutions
• Empowering women
Appropriate solutions for different contexts

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We must act now, in ways that are appropriate to
local contexts, to help livestock keepers adapt to
climate change
• For economies
• For livelihoods
• For food and nutrition security
The cost of not acting is too high

THANK YOU