This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English AgricultureReport.
Farm animals supply an estimated thirty percent of all food andagricultural needs. They provide products like milk, meat and eggs.They provide fertilizer to help crops grow. And they help farmerswork the land.
But there is concern about the loss of many kinds of farm animalsas a result of efforts to create new ones. People began to breedlivestock at least twelve thousand years ago. Animals not onlyprovided food and labor. Their skin and bones also provided clothesand tools. But people also bred animals to survive local conditions.
Breeders look for farm animals with desirable qualities. Suchanimals are then used to reproduce, so they pass along thesequalities for the future. Competition becomes difficult for animalswith qualities that are seen as less desirable. The United NationsFood and Agriculture Organization says more than eight hundredbreeds are in danger.
Big farms and modern agriculture often depend on only a few kindsof livestock. These animals have been bred to meet the needs of newtechnology and production methods.
But older kinds of farm animals can be useful too. They may notbe as productive as newer kinds of livestock. Yet, they may remainproductive even under severe conditions. The Jamunapari goat ofIndia, for example, produces good milk and meat. But its ability tosurvive in dry conditions with little food makes it highly valuablein parts of India.
The Taihu pig of China is another example. It does not produce asmuch meat as some breeds of pig. But, it is able to eat many kindsof food and reproduce more than Western breeds.
The Food and Agriculture Organization publishes a list of farmanimals that are in danger of disappearing. The agency calls it theWorld Watch List for Domestic Animal Diversity. The F.A.O. isleading an effort to collect genetic information from breeds of farmanimals around the world. In the United States, the AmericanLivestock Breeds Conservancy gathers information on rare farmanimals and seeks to protect them.
Breeding over thousands of years has created genetic diversityamong farm animals. Different genes can give animals the ability tosurvive under more conditions. It can also give them betterresistance to disease. But now experts warn that we are losing thatgenetic diversity. At least four thousand breeds of farm animalshave been developed. But some experts say hundreds of breeds havedisappeared.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by MarioRitter. This is Steve Ember.