Summary 109 ECOFERM! The Closed-Cycle Farm Liere, J. van, and others InnovationNetwork Report No. 11.2.248, Utrecht, The Netherlands, June 2011. Background The Dutch pig farming sector is under pressure. Social resistance is growing and protests against factory farming in general and ‘megastalls’ in particular are becoming more vociferous. Individuals and social organizations – with policy-makers and politicians following in their wake – are pressing for more dignified living conditions for the animals. Animal health issues and the frequent use of antibiotics are raising questions, partly because of concerns over antibiotic resistance and the consequences for human health. The effects of manure and greenhouse gases on the environment and climate are also high on the agenda. The massive importation of soy as animal feed is having a destructive impact on nature and biodiversity in the production countries, and in the Netherlands it has created a persistent manure surplus. These problems are closely interconnected, which entails that fundamental changes are necessary on many fronts. InnovationNetwork has developed an idea to make pig farming more sustainable and to close the cycles involved. This concept is called ECOFERM! ECOFERM! Central to the ECOFERM! concept is the principle of closed cycles. The ‘waste’ products from pig farming (manure, ammonia, water vapour, CO2 and residual heat) are used for the production of algae, Pagina 117
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