The meaning of sustainability has been interpreted by many. To those in agriculture, sustainability means using natural resources efficiently and caring for the land, air, water and wildlife. In simple terms, it can be understood to mean leaving things better than you found them or providing for future generations. However, I think the most critical point to understand is that sustainability is a continuous journey, rather than a destination.
The topic of responsible and sustainable animal agriculture has received a lot of recent media attention, but these concepts are nothing new to the pork community. Raising food is a way of life that requires dedication and hard work, something that American farmers consider a duty and a privilege. All sectors of animal agriculture have made great strides in their own sustainability journeys and pork is no exception.
The pork community is committed to managing farms and facilities in the most environmentally responsible way possible. Conservation, recycling, land management, air quality, water quality, and manure management are areas of priority for pig farmers to continuously improve upon.
Pig farmers don’t just talk the talk either. Data has shown that from 1960 to 2015, pig farmers have decreased:
• water use by 25%
• land use by 76%
• energy use by 7%
• carbon footprint by 8%
Members of the pork community are working to continuously improve their practices to reduce their environmental footprint. The use of renewable energy sources like methane digesters, solar panels, and wind turbines are all great examples of innovations in energy usage. Advancement such as these are working to make more farms carbon neutral or even negative.
The Alliance wants to celebrate the achievements of the pork community as they work to continuously improve their farming practices, leaving farming better off for generations to come. For more information on sustainability and how pork stacks up against other sectors of animal ag, I encourage you all to check out our Sustainability Impact Report.
Every year, the Alliance releases an updated report in accordance with Earth Day – April 22 – make sure to check out the new report. It’s a great resource to share with those interested in learning more about the hard work pig farmers do every day and the data behind it all.
