AGRICULTURE:
Livestock

Animals kept for livestock purposes cause a range of environmental problems, including excessive water consumption, water pollution, soil pollution and erosion. Methane, a gas that contributes to global warming, is produced in significant quantities by livestock. The dangers of animal waste were illustrated in dramatic fashion by the Walkerton water tragedy. As well, diets that are heavy in meat and other animal products create more environmental pressures and health concerns.

The OECD statistics for livestock include cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, horses and mules. Horses and mules have been excluded from this indicator because they are used for purposes other than producing meat.

Canada’s OECD Ranking
Canada ranks 16th out of 28 OECD countries in terms of livestock per capita and 17th out of 28 for total number of livestock (meaning 16 countries have less total livestock than Canada). As of 1998, Canada had 0.84 head of livestock (cattle, pigs, sheep and goats) per person, only slightly above the OECD average.

In terms of the total amount of livestock, Canada had 25,663,000 head. Only the United States, Australia, Mexico, Germany and France have more cattle than Canada. Poland, Spain, the United States, Australia, Mexico, Germany and France have more pigs. On the other hand, sixteen OECD countries have more sheep and goats than Canada.

Trends
In all three categories – cattle, pigs and sheep plus goats – livestock levels in Canada are on the rise. The number of cattle went up 8.5% between 1980 and 1998. The number of pigs went up 17.4% between 1980 and 1998. The number of sheep increased 30.8% between 1980 and 1998.

A disturbing aspect of this overall increase in livestock is the trend towards factory farms where large numbers of livestock create unprecedented volumes of manure, posing a serious water pollution problem.

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