A Promising Niche: Current State of Knowledge on the Agroecological Contribution of Alternative Livestock Farming Practices

Pascal Genest-Richard (), Caroline Halde, Patrick Mundler and Nicolas Devillers
Additional contact information
Pascal Genest-Richard: Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales, Université Laval, 2345 Allée des Bibliothèques, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Caroline Halde: Département de Phytologie, Université Laval, 2425 rue de l’Agriculture, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Patrick Mundler: Département d’Économie Agroalimentaire et des Sciences de la Consommation, Université Laval, 2425 rue de l’Agriculture, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Nicolas Devillers: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, 2000 rue College, Sherbrooke, QC J1M 0C8, Canada

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-31

Abstract: Agroecology is increasingly used to study the evolution of farms and food systems, in which livestock plays a significant part. While large-scale specialized livestock farms are sometimes criticized for their contribution to climate change and nutrient cycle disruption, interest in alternative practices such as raising multiple species, integrating crop and livestock, relying on pasture, and marketing through short supply chains is growing. Through a narrative review, we aimed to determine if the scientific literature allowed for an evaluation of the agroecological contribution of alternative livestock farming practices. Taking advantage of ruminants’ capacity to digest human-inedible plant material such as hay and pasture on marginal land reduces the competition between livestock feed and human food for arable land. Taking advantage of monogastric animals’ capacity to digest food waste or byproducts limits the need for grain feed. Pasturing spreads manure directly on the field and allows for the expression of natural animal behavior. Animals raised on alternative livestock farms, however, grow slower and live longer than those raised on large specialized farms. This causes them to consume more feed and to emit more greenhouse gases per unit of meat produced. Direct or short supply chain marketing fosters geographical and relational proximity, but alternative livestock farms’ contribution to the social equity and responsibility principles of agroecology are not well documented. Policy aimed at promoting practices currently in place on alternative livestock farms is compatible with agroecology but has to be envisioned in parallel with a reduction in animal consumption in order to balance nutrient and carbon cycles.

Keywords: multispecies; agroecology; animal; sustainability; alternative food networks; pasture; direct marketing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/235/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/235/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:235-:d:1573591

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().