Scenarios improve understanding of the system, challenge conventional thinking and perspectives, and support scientifically sound decision-making processes. With the participation of stakeholders from across Europe, scenarios were developed that outline five plausible directions for the development of European livestock farming systems. The results were presented by Hermine Mitter at this year's EAAE conference.
The five scenarios are titled: European livestock farming systems in a ......
- sustainable era...
- established era...
- self-sufficient era...
- unequal but green era...
- innovative but fossil-fuel-powered era
The system analysis identifies two levers for change in European livestock farming systems: (i) political attention to climate protection and adaptation to climate change, and (ii) environmental awareness among citizens. The following were identified as early warning signals for change: (i) social pressure for sustainable livestock farming systems, (ii) variable costs of animal production, and (iii) relative prices of animal-based foods.
The underlying study was developed in cooperation with Katrin Karner (BOKU University, Vienna), Michele Moretti (University of Pisa), and Selene Righi (University of Pisa) and is part of the Re-Livestock and Circular Bioengineering projects. Funding is provided by the European Union and the Austrian Science Fund.