2006 Spring Meeting of the WPSA UK Branch

In developed, free-market economies, animal producers face a variety of strategic challenges that include, inter alia, satisfying consumer demands about product price and quality, as well as about environmental protection and animal welfare. Simply put, consumers want food products that are high quality, yet inexpensive and produced in ways that respect animal welfare without damaging the environment. European consumers have expressed these demands, through the political process, in a variety of European Union Directives that directly affect intensive pig and poultry producers. Considering international trade agreements, producers can be forgiven for questioning their own sanity as they try to respond to these multiple demands and earn a reasonable living. However, reminiscing about how things used to be in the ‘good old days’ is not a viable way forward. Although the future cannot be predicted with certainty, it is highly unlikely that existing legislation related to food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection will be relaxed. Animal producers that wish to continue their business pursuits must find ways to remain profitable while satisfying a myriad of legal requirements. The EU Directive (EU 96/61/EC) for Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) treats intensive pig and poultry producers in more or less the same way as other industries that have the potential to cause significant environmental impacts in the normal course of business. In short, this directive requires that the relevant industries comprehensively and simultaneously control emissions to all environmental media (soil, water and air) using best available techniques (BAT). BAT includes those technologies and techniques (e.g., managerial practices) that are widely available to an industry, and can be applied in economically and technically viable conditions. A detailed guidance document is available for evaluating BAT for pig and poultry industries (EIPPC Bureau, 2003). Interpretations of this guidance, and of the IPPC Directive itself, are also available (Magette et al., 2001a, 2002). A wide variety of considerations must be made in the determination of what constitutes BAT. These include the fundamental EU principles of precaution and prevention of adverse environmental impacts, and extend to energy efficiency and protection of health and safety. Indicative costs and benefits of a measure are also among the criteria to be evaluated when considering whether a measure qualifies as BAT. The BAT reference document (EIPPC Bureau, 2003) identifies techniques that can be considered BAT. It only remains for producers to implement these. Implementation of BAT may pose significant challenges to some producers. In some cases, BAT will be seen as best practice that is already being used, or will be viewed as a sensible approach to improving productivity. Examples of such practices include improved feed formulations that minimise overfeeding of nutrients, and improved feed delivery systems. In other cases, particularly as regards controlling atmospheric emissions, BAT may require more elaborate measures not now in widespread use by producers. That a practice is not widely used does not disqualify it as a BAT; it need only be technically and economically viable at production scale. In addition to the individual practices that comprise BAT, an overarching requirement of IPPC is the implementation of an environmental management system (EMS). In lay terms, an EMS is a management tool that addresses all environmental impacts associated with a business. An ISO standard (ISO14001) exists for the development of third-party verifiable EMSs that are based on the continuous improvement principle. ISO14001 certification leads to a