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Broiler and pig meat production in the UK have come under the spotlight in a new interactive ‘Ammonia Map’, which has highlighted emissions said to be stemming from intensive farming. Lincolnshire, Herefordshire and Norfolk have the most severe concentrations of ammonia emissions, according to the report.
The map, produced by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and Sustain, is part of a report, ‘The Ammonia Pollution Problem‘, which claims that while ammonia may be essential for food production, levels being released are beyond what ecosystems can absorb.
Moving in the right direction
But the National Pig Association (NPA) said the sector was making substantial progress in cutting ammonia emissions and questioned some of the statistics. CE Lizzie Wilson acknowledged that the pig sector ‘has a responsibility to ensure its impact on air quality is as limited as possible’. She said the NPA would question how the data for the ammonia map was derived and what it includes, given that it ‘doesn’t appear to directly correspond with the type of production the report claims’.
Wilson also noted: “The pig sector is, by way of various environmental legislation, including environmental permitting, one of the most highly regulated sectors within agriculture and as such, it specifically only accounts for 8% of total UK ammonia emissions.”
A gradual fall of overall ammonia emissions since 1990
Trials by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, which focused on actual rather than average emissions, were accepted by the Environment Agency and showed an average reduction of 50% over 10 years across different housing types.
Wilson added: “According to Defra, ‘the fall in emissions from livestock other than cattle, especially from the pig and poultry sectors, is the main driver in the gradual fall of overall ammonia emissions since 1990. This can be partly explained by the Pollution Prevention and Control Act (1999) making all new intensive pig and poultry installations subject to ammonia controls through permitting.”
She added: “The UK is only approximately 60% self-sufficient in pig meat with a significant proportion imported from countries with lower animal welfare and environmental/sustainability standards in comparison. We have continued to improve our efficiency and therefore our carbon footprint by producing greater quantities of pigmeat from a declining national sow herd to meet the demand of a growing population. We will continue to engage with government on emissions and ensure, as always, we are fulfilling our responsibilities regarding our sector impact on air quality and the wider environment.”
Richard Griffiths, CE of the British Poultry Council, also pointed to the ‘strict and robust’ regulation controlling emissions in the UK poultry meat sector: “CIWF’s renewed attack on livestock farming is yet another concocted outrage based on their dislike of what we do. The fact is the poultry sector is working hard to enhance its sustainability while feeding the nation with safe, nutritious, and affordable products enjoyed by many consumers.”
The impact on human health
The report notes that UK agriculture is responsible for 89% of national ammonia emissions, and that as UK farming has intensified, so has the scale of the harm. Once released into the air, ammonia reacts with other pollutants to form fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which have been liked to serious health issues, such as heart disease, strokes, lung cancer and asthma.
The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) estimated human-made PM2.5 exposure was responsible for between 28,861 and 29,000 premature deaths in the UK in 2010. Modelling shows that reducing agricultural emissions could dramatically cut mortality rates.
CIWF patron and NHS doctor, Dr Amir Khan, said: “As a GP, I see firsthand the toll that air pollution takes on people’s health – and ammonia from intensive farming is a major, yet often overlooked part of that problem. Reducing these emissions is not just an environmental issue; it is an urgent public health priority.”
The impact on the environment and animals
The environmental impacts are equally severe. Excess nitrogen from ammonia deposition acidifies soils, fuels algal blooms and degrades ancient woodlands, grasslands, wetlands and freshwater habitats. According to CIWF, intensively farmed animals suffer too. Inside industrial livestock units, high ammonia concentrations irritate eyes and respiratory systems, increasing stress and susceptibility to disease, it noted.
Anthony Field, head of Compassion in World Farming UK: “Factory farming sits at the heart of the UK’s ammonia crisis. By cramming large numbers of animals into confined spaces and relying heavily on fertilisers, these intensive systems release far more ammonia than the environment or our bodies can cope with. The result is a cascade of harm – to the animals living in these conditions, to the people breathing the polluted air, and to the ecosystems absorbing the excess nitrogen.”
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