Animal Welfare- One of the three pillars of ROC™
Regenerative Organic Certified™ (ROC™) is a holistic standard that applies to producers of agricultural products including, but not limited to, plant or animal products for food, textile, or personal care.
ROC is overseen by the nonprofit Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA). The ROA is a group of experts in farming, ranching, soil health, animal welfare, and farmer & worker fairness.
The goal of ROC™ is to promote holistic agriculture practices in an all-encompassing certification that:
Increases soil organic matter over time and sequesters carbon below and above ground, which could be a tool to mitigate climate change;
Improves animal welfare; and
Provides economic stability and fairness for farmers, ranchers, and workers
You can learn more about ROC HERE.
The Regenerative Organic Certification™ (ROC™) entails three pillars:
Animal Welfare
Today we will look at Animal Welfare - one of the three pillars in detail.
Animal Welfare
Livestock is an essential component in regenerative farming— a significant degree of animal welfare is critical to agricultural rejuvenation, productivity, and profitability. Herd management with superior animal care benchmarks produces higher meat and milk quality.
Within Animal Welfare, there are several attributes, and we will look into each of them closely. These attributes are:
Five Freedoms
Freedom from discomfort
Freedom from fear & distress
Freedom from hunger
Freedom from pain, injury or disease
Freedom to express normal behavior
Grass-Fed / Pasture-Raised
Limited Transport
No CAFOs
Suitable Shelter
Let's dive in!
FIVE FREEDOMS
The Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare
These Five Freedoms are the gold standard in animal welfare, embracing and fulfilling the emotional & physical prosperity of animals. The provisions and requirements of the Five Freedoms are as follows—
Freedom From Discomfort
Freedom from discomfort focuses on providing the animals with the surroundings and shelter they require to be comfortable. It gives them access to safe recreational areas where they may graze, roam about, and live per their natural inclinations and joys.
Freedom From Fear & Distress
Individual animals might experience a great deal of stress when their surroundings are crammed— freedom from fear & distress provide facilities and management that prevent mental distress. It prevents overcrowded livestock farms and ensures appropriate nourishment and sheltered hideaways.
Freedom From Hunger
Animals require special kinds of food at distinct intervals— freedom from hunger facilitates easy access to clean water and a nutritious meal to sustain strength and good health.
Freedom From Pain, Injury, or Disease
Freedom from pain, injury, or disease includes vaccinating animals, assessing their overall health, addressing any wounds, and administering necessary treatments. It eliminates pain, injury, or disease through prevention or prompt diagnosis and treatment.
Freedom To Express Normal Behavior
Freedom to express normal behavior provides adequate space, appropriate facilities to allow the animals the freedom to display natural behavior. It implies applying considerable and planned measures to help establish emotionally and physically motivating settings for reared livestock.
Adopting the Five Freedoms promotes the health and well-being of the animals in our management— it meets the highest animal welfare parameters through spacious livestock farms, proper nourishment and care, and sheltered hideaways.
Grass-Fed / Pasture-Raised
Traditional farming is wholly based on nature; it is also one of the most highly polluting sectors— livestock and fisheries profile 31% of total food emissions. To be more precise, one pound of beef (beef herd) emits 99.48 kg of greenhouse gases— an enormous volume of GHGs for a mere 1000 grams of protein.
Restorative farming, rather than confining the animals, enables them to access nature and exercise their natural behaviors. It pillars on investing equal dedication and effort into decreasing or neutralizing ecological footprint as generating revenue to preserve and restore natural resources.
Grass-fed animals contribute to soil fertility, resulting in substantially higher absorption of CO2 emissions— an important step toward decreasing the carbon footprint and mitigating climate change.
The Benefits of Grass-Fed / Pasture-Raised Approach
Rearing animals on pasture implies that the livestock isn't always grazing in the same location as it can diminish and potentially destroy the soil.
In regenerative farming, the animals are regularly moved to a new grassland area. This allows the already grazed paddock to regrow before the next grazing cycle begins, resulting in replenished soil that promotes new grass growth.
Allowing the soil to renew and plant life to develop before the next grazing session enriches the land while also ensuring that the pasture stays healthy and rich in nutrients for the animals to graze.
Pasture-raised animals provide nutrient-dense proteins, offering a diverse micronutrient profile and a high concentration of omega-3 fatty acids, all contributing to health and wellness.
Limited Transport
One-quarter of the global CO2 emissions come from food production. The primary source of emissions includes production and post-farm processes such as processing and distribution.
Farm Emissions
Agriculture (along with forestry and other land uses) accounts for about 25% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, making it one of the largest emitters of the primary GHG responsible for climate change— carbon dioxide. But at the same time, farms also play a critical role in mitigating climate crises and establishing a safe, prosperous future, free of CO2 emissions. Adopting regenerative farming and food supply methods present significant potential for bringing about a change— one in which we can feed the world's growing population with clean, wholesome food cultivated in healthy soil biodiversity.
The Solution— Regenerative Agriculture
Regenerative agriculture is fundamentally about the prosperity of the soil and fulfilling it with initiatives that help achieve its objectives. Decreasing agricultural emissions to increase the efficiency of food production lies in reforming farming practices— the agriculture sector can achieve roughly 20% of its emissions reductions by 2050 with proven GHG-efficient farming technologies and practices. And while transportation emissions make up a minor portion of overall food emissions, accounting for about 6% globally, our planet needs every little deduction to fight climate change. Shipping food by air produces almost 50 times more CO2 than shipping the same quantity by the sea— 1.13 kg CO2eq per tonne-kilometer by air vs 0.01 kg CO2eq per tonne-kilometer by sea.
Regenerative agriculture practices mean going beyond labels to consider the environmental consequences of farming activities, including limiting transportation. The transportation sector is already the largest emitter of greenhouse gases— eliminating even one trip might significantly contribute to achieving inclusive and meaningful changes.
No CAFOS
CAFO, which stands for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, are industrial factories that supply large meat processing facilities— producing 99% of the meat consumed in the United States. CAFO animals are kept in an area with no vegetation for at least 45 days each year. The average CAFO operation waste in a day is equivalent to 16,000 humans' urine and feces. CAFOs accommodate anything from tens of thousands to millions of animals, making it one of the leading sources of pollution— impacting not just climate change but also the social, financial, and physical health.
One of the essential aspects of Animal Welfare by Regenerative Organic Certified is No CAFOs. This component considers livestock management activities as a viable aspect of regenerating the farmlands— an approach to enhance food composition, lower waste nutrients, and improve nutrient uptake performance.
By developing strategies to keep animal wastes from compromising our agronomic footprint, regenerative agriculture methods help accomplish nutrition priorities.
Suitable Shelter
Regenerative agriculture covers the components of proper livestock housing along with manure disposal to maintain a healthy animal farm environment. Proper housing based on statistical fundamentals is a crucial component of farm animal care. A sanitary and secure habitat improves the animals' comfort and leads to their good health. Animal health and happiness, sanitation, effective and economical manpower usage, and the creation of a supportive atmosphere are vital for optimal livestock productivity.
