The Contribution of Traditional Meat Goat Farming Systems to Human Wellbeing and Its Importance for the Sustainability of This Livestock Subsector

Abstract

Traditional meat goat farming systems are characterized by rearing autochthonous breeds and using natural resources through grazing, often within protected natural areas. In a context of reduction of the number of farms, due to the low income derived from the sale of kids, the role of those systems as suppliers of presently non-remunerated ecosystem services becomes more relevant. The objective of this article is to analyze the current situation of those systems, focusing on their connection with human wellbeing, and to formulate proposals that can contribute to guaranteeing their profitability and continuity. A technical-economic and environmental study of a sample of farms and an analysis of the limiting factors affecting the subsector were carried out. As a result, a set of multifactorial problems was identified, with the lack of acknowledgement and remuneration of some services—mainly environmental and cultural—provided by those systems and the low selling price of kids standing as the main threats. The consideration of meat goat farms as “producers of meat of high functional quality and providers of ecosystem services”, which should be properly quantified and remunerated, would contribute to their preservation and guarantee the provision of benefits associated with the activity.

Physicochemical Composition, Antioxidant Status, Fatty Acid Profile, and Volatile Compounds of Milk and Fresh and Ripened Ewes’ Cheese from a Sustainable Part-Time Grazing System

“…The disappearance of many pastoral farming methods in Europe has revealed the importance of sustainable livestock management for environmental conservation [ 1 ]. In the Balearic Islands (Spain), traditional sheep systems based on the use of autochthonous breeds deserve to be highlighted.…”

“…1 VA, vaccenic acid; RA, rumenic acid; ARA, arachidonic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; DPA, docosapentaenoic acid; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; SFA, saturated FAs; MUFA, monounsaturated FAs; PUFA, polyunsaturated FAs; SCFA, short-chain FAs; MCFA, medium-chain FAs; LCFA, long-chain FAs; CLA, conjugated linoleic acid; AI (atherogenic index; (C12:0 + 4 × 14:0 + C16:0)/(MUFA + PUFA)) and TI (thrombogenic index; (C14:0 + C16:0 + C18:0)/(0.5 × MUFA + 0.5 × n-6 + 3 × n-3 + n-3/n-6)) were computed using the procedure proposed by Ulbricht and Southgate[37]; health-promoting index (HPI) was the inverse of AI,[38];2 Statistical probability for comparisons: ns, not significant (p > 0.05); *, p ≤ 0.05; **, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001; †, p ≤ 0.10.…”

Natural Carbon Sinks Linked to Pastoral Activity in S Spain: A Territorial Evaluation Methodology for Mediterranean Goat Grazing Systems

“…Under the current prevailing conditions of management and production, which nowadays is still moving towards intensification, the expected demand of livestock products for food would predictably lead to an increase in the associated GHG emissions, among other environmental impacts, if these conditions are not changed towards other more sustainable concepts of production and farm management. In this regard, institutions and some population groups increasingly aware and concerned about environmental problems propose measures such as: (i) to reduce or limit the consumption of meat and dairy products [9,10]); (ii) to promote management techniques aimed to reduce GHG emissions [11]; (iii) to ensure grazing management models that allow the carbon to continue keeping stored in soil and vegetation [5,12,13]; and (iv) to increase the carbon sink ability associated to ruminant farming systems, which is particularly true in the case of pastoral farms [14].…”

Sustainability Assessment of Goat and Sheep Farms: A Comparison between European Countries

“…Sustainability issues are of particular importance for the sheep and goat sector in Europe, where 16.8 and 130.8 million goats and sheep respectively are reared, ensuring livelihoods for vulnerable populations in rural areas, including those in marginal zones. The shift towards intensification in small ruminant production, where traditional husbandry practices like pastoralism have decreased due to low productivity and prices [7], signals the need for sustainable livestock management in order to ensure the overall viability of the sector [8,9]. The threat to the resilience of the sector might further be averted by taking advantage of the opportunities in sustainable production, such as special "lifestyle" market niches, which are flourishing [10].…”

“…Although there have been studies that assess the sustainability in small ruminant farms in France and Spain [8,[11][12][13][14] and one rapid assessment in organic and low-input farming of 102 dairy cow and goat farms in 9 European Union (EU) countries for the Sustainable Organic and Low Input Dairying (SOLID) project [15], there has not been a larger-scale Sustainability Assessment (SA), with a holistic approach, to evaluate the current condition of European small ruminant farming. Many different frameworks and tools exist for SA with different approaches, as SA is a complex type of appraisal methodology due to its multidisciplinary aspects and system-specific characteristics, i.e., the values, the culture, the target group [16,17].…”