Farming systems can be defined in many ways. VEDA
(The Vegetarian Environmental Development Association)
has defined three different farming systems according
to the diet the farming system feeds - a meat-based
diet, a vegetarian diet and a vegan diet; though
overlap between the diets does exist.
1. The rearing of animals for slaughter provides
for a milk and meat-based diet. This meat-based
farming system is the presently accepted norm
in most of the world, with India as a notable
exception.
2. The rearing of animals for useful products
and services without slaughtering the animals
provides for a vegetarian diet. This farming system
is that followed by Protection Farms.
3. Farm animals need not be used at all, leaving
a vegan, plant-based diet. This system is presently
being developed according to vegan standards.
Protection Farms utilizes all domesticated farm
animals, though the main farm animal, as in most
farming systems, is the cow. Presented below are
comparisons between the three farming systems
outlined, using the cow as an exemplar.
A table showing dietary comparisons and their
implications to the farmed animals, using the
cow as an exemplar.
A
Meat-based Farming System
In a conventional dairy unit in the UK dairy cows
are impregnated in their second year for a 300-day
lactation in their third year. Their calves are
separated from their mothers within the first
48 hours; unwanted calves are used for veal production
or slaughtered as they are seen to be of no economic
value. The dairy cow will yield an average of
20 litres/day for a 6,000 litre lactation. During
this period they are impregnated again ready to
give birth and another 300-day lactation, with
only 2 months between drying off and birth. At
an average age of 7 years old, after 5 or more
lactations, yielding in its lifetime over 30,000
litres of milk, the dairy cow is sent to slaughter;
usually for low-grade meat for pet food. In conventional
beef suckler systems beef steers suffer another
fate to the dairy cow. After castration and intensive
feeding for 3 years they are then slaughtered
for meat for human consumption.
The feed that is used in conventional systems
is in a concentrated form to increase growth rate
and milk yield. Before the BSE crisis concentrates
even contained the dried powdered remains of animals,
including the cow. These concentrates increase
metabolic disorders, which, along with intensive
stocking, leads to infirmity; this is counteracted
via the proliferate use of antibiotics. The organic
dairy system differs from the conventional system
in a lower intensity of the system in regards
to (organic) feeding and stocking. Still, all
organic farms slaughter their livestock at the
end of their optimal economic efficiency, though
a few very fortunate farm animals may be kept
as pets.
A Vegan Farming System
The vegan farming system is a livestock-less system,
therefore no animals would be farmed. If the vegan
system were taken to its extremes, i.e. the world
ate a vegan diet, then there would be no domesticated
animals, including pets. The relationship with
the natural world and its animals would be one
of minimal interference. The land would revert
to its natural climax vegetation, e.g. forest,
and the vegan diet would come from an agro-ecology
of tree-based fruits and nuts, as well as field-based
crops of grains and horticulture. Unless farm
animals were made extinct and there was no other
invasive wildlife, then competition from feral
farm animals and wildlife could intensify, leading
to the necessity to cull.
Notable vegan writers like Kathleen Jannaway have
lent their support to a farming system with protected
farm animals as a halfway house between the present
system and the vegan ideal. Other vegans are more
militant in their approach to Protection Farms.
There are valid arguments from vegan writers concerning
the need to keep animals at all, which are highly
complex and polemic. One detail which will be
mentioned is the need for the castration of animals.
Whilst Protection Farms markets its products as
"food without cruelty", it must be understood
that nature itself is inherently cruel. Drawing
on the Hindu concept of ahimsa, which is often
quoted as non-violence but actually means minimal
violence, as it is understood that non-violence
is not feasible, then castration is seen as a
minimalist form of violence. Castration of male
offspring in farm animals is seen as essential
to Protection Farms as too many fertile males
would bring havoc to the farming system.
In the above extreme vegan scenario, the fact
that the necessity to cull may arise raises its
own dilemma. A 'fortress vegan' farming system
would need to be in place and the wildlife on
the other side left to its own devises. A contemporary
analogy would be with the elephants in parts of
Africa, where great effort is made to keep them
out of farmed land, and culling is a yearly norm.
In the vegan system although the animals are not
domesticated and managed by humans, they would
need to be managed by culling or fenced out of
human crop land. To vegans this may represent
minimised violence. To the vegetarian, farm animal
protection may represent minimised violence. Either
one has its own dilemma as nature is inherently
cruel.
In India the predominantly vegan Jains support
Hindu cow protection in many ways. VEDA believes
the Western vegan should also support Protection
Farms. The vegan diet should have its own live-stockless
agriculture, but in the long run the meat-eating
diet will continue to take the lives of millions
of animals each year. With Protection Farms people
following the vegan diet will have one form to
aid the plight of the farm animal. Too many animal
welfare groups are re-active to the meat and milk
industry, Protection Farms offer a pro-active
stance via which animal welfare standards will
be pushed ever higher; Protection Farms will offer
the best-practice for animal welfare, raising
the benchmark for animal welfare standards.
[From
VEDA
— New
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