Tackling the future challenges of Organic Animal Husbandry - vTI

! Agriculture and Forestry Research, Special Issue No 362 (Braunschweig, 2012) ISSN 0376-0723
Download: www.vti.bund.de/en/startseite/vti-publications/landbauforschung-special-issues.html
Table 1. Farms and their properties
Sanctuary Agricultural
Sanctuary
Vegetarian Milk Farm
Farm 1 (EU) Farm 2 (EU) Farm 3 (IND) Farm 4 (EU) Farm 5 (EU)
Number of cattle a
35 42 ca. 200-320 b
35 45
LU/ha 1 3,3 (9,6) b
0,6 1,2
Milking X X
Breeding X X
Ox draft X X
Dung products X X
Horticulture-,
Agri-cultural
products
X X X X
Sanctuary X X X X
a
The numbers are from different years, ranging from 2008 (Farm 3) to 2011 (Farm 2 and 3) and 2012 (Farm 1 and 5).
b
Fluctuating between 100-200 cattle and 100-120 buffalo.
c
The figure is not precise since there are fluctuations in the number of animals, different conditions in India and the
animals also graze in the forest and other common grazing areas that are not included in this figure.
Farm 2 uses dung for the production of insent sticks, soap and massage oil besides different types of
(fermented) fertilizers. Farm 3 is in the process of developing traditional Indian dung and urine
products, e.g. for ayurvedic treatments. Finances are also generated e.g. by bed and breakfast (farm
1 and 4), donations and adoptions (all), and as a cattle keeping service provider for an animal protection
organisation (farm 1), or as a milk provider for a Hare Krishna Hindu-temple and community
(farm 5). Milk has become a by-product of cattle keeping. However, there are other examples of
so-called vegetarian milk farms. Since last year Ahimsa Milk 5 sells milk for 2,40 £ per litre and
Cow Nation 6 for 1,60 £ per pint (568 mL) in London.
Discussion
Within the framework of an agri-care system (agricultural-) sanctuaries and segetarian milk farms
are identified as relevant farm stiles. The features of these care-systems present an expansion of the
current ethical values within organic farming as. The main product of (agricultural-) sanctuaries is
the “whole life” of the animal, based on a widened interpretation of life and living (Verhoog et al.
2003). The integrity of an individual animal is violated by the act of slaughtering and thus impeding
possible future expressions of it. Vegetarian milk farms found a solution to combine ecology with
the ethics of non-killing plus a limited amount of milk production.
The challenge for the farmers is to explore and develop ecological functions for the male and female
cattle within their emerging agri-system while making a living by that – as e.g. done in Italy
by the biodynamic Menicocci farm 7 that grazes cattle between vines and olive trees without breeding
and slaughtering.
5
www.ahimsamilk.org [07.04.2012]
6
www.goodfoodnation.co.uk/cow-nation.php [07.04.2012]
7 www.biodynamic.it
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