Livestock, Fishing, Aquaculture, and Logging: Sustainable Practices

Livestock: Animal Husbandry

Animal husbandry provides resources for human use, such as meat, milk, eggs, leather, wool, and honey. The most numerous livestock species are cattle, pigs, and sheep. The agricultural sector has undergone profound changes in the last century. Scientific research has resulted in selected breeds that provide high yields and are resistant to many diseases affecting livestock.

Ranching

Ranching is characteristic of large farms where livestock graze in fields of natural grasslands. It requires minimal investment in labor, facilities, and animal feed. However, productivity is low. The types of livestock are typically cattle and sheep, whose products are intended for sale in developed countries and for self-consumption in underdeveloped countries.

Intensive Farming

Intensive farming is practiced in specialized, usually smaller, farms. It requires large investments in facilities, technology, and livestock feed. However, productivity is high. Animals are raised in feedlots, meaning they are kept in stables. Characteristic types of livestock are cattle, pigs, and poultry, whose production is intended for the market.

Note: Mad cow disease is a clear example of the dangers of improper handling of livestock feed.

Fishing

Fishing involves catching fish and other aquatic animals in seas, rivers, or lakes.

• Inshore Fishing: Practiced near the coast in tiny boats using traditional methods (harpoons, hooks, traps, nets).
• Coastal Fishing: Carried out near the coast in small or medium-sized vessels equipped with various fishing gear depending on the target species.
• Deep-Sea Fishing: Conducted on the high seas using large-tonnage ships equipped with modern technical instruments. These are essentially factory ships prepared for fishing campaigns lasting several weeks or months.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture is the breeding of aquatic plants and animals in captivity or a controlled environment.

Logging

Logging is the economic exploitation of forests. The major forest resource is wood, primarily used to manufacture paper and in the construction and furniture industries.