Summary of Counter-Arguments:
| - Pig husbandry is a major environmental problem due to industrial and landless production systems. - On organic farms, equilibrium between animal and crop production ensures proper nutrient cycles and avoids soil and water pollution. |
Details of Counter-Arguments:
Pigs do not produce phosphorus (P) on their own; they excrete the surplus P that they do not assimilate from their phosphorus-enriched diet. Hence, if pigs were fed primarily with feed grown on the farm, and their excrement was returned as fertilizer to the soils of the same farm, there would be no excess phosphorus. The problem occurs when pigs are grown in industrial settings with no connection between crop production and animal production. Organic standards require that organic farms function with appropriate stocking rates to ensure equilibrium between animal and crop production.
According to the principles of Organic Agriculture, organic livestock husbandry has to be in harmony with the ecological conditions and natural processes of the environment. With regard to pig husbandry, this means that pigs must be fed using mainly feed produced on the farm and that the cultivated surface must be sufficient to accommodate manure spreading in a way that respects the soils and the surrounding environment. Organic practices, such as maintaining appropriate stocking rates and herd sizes and adapting rotations according to climate (e.g., rainfall) and other characteristics of the land, help farmers comply with the recommended quantities of phosphorus application per hectare.
Therefore, there is no need to modify pigs genetically to ensure a sustainable pig production. Husbandry practices and overall farm management that follow Organic Agriculture principles already provide a solution for environmentally sustainable pig husbandry systems.