Monday marked the beginning of the last of this year’s three Rio COPs, the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Riyadh. Today, the Conference is hosting its Agri-Food Systems Day, coinciding with World Soil Day. 

It should not be a surprise that this global forum against land degradation is dedicating a day to food systems, as 95% of what we eat depends on soil and how we produce food has serious consequences for soil health.  

Most of the over 80 million farm animals that are slaughtered every year for food are kept under intensive farming conditions, that not only cause them mental and physical distress but also damage our soils. Intensive indoor systems with bad manure management and a systematic overuse of antimicrobials cause soil biodiversity loss and pollution, with devastating effects on soil fertility and its carbon absorption capacities. For instance, in Europe, 80% of soil acidification is due to the livestock industry. 

Moreover, industrial animal farming requires huge amounts of feed, 77% of global soy is used for this purpose. To keep up with this demand, more and more land is converted to produce this feed while the use of mineral fertilisers has become a necessary part of maintaining the system. The use of these fertilisers, while increasing crop yields in the short-term, causes more acidification and disruptions to soil microbiology. In short, to keep up with the current levels of production, the industry relies on continuing practices based on deforestation and polluting further our soils. Ultimately, this is threatening our food security.   

Shifting from intensive livestock farming to more sustainable, extensive farming with excellent animal welfare standards provides solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation, while allowing for better land management practices and natural feeding and social behaviours. In the case of large ruminants like cows, they have co-evolved with grasslands over millions of years. These ecosystems rely on grazing to thrive, and without proper grazing, grasslands are at risk of deteriorating or disappearing altogether. 

In extensive systems where animals are given the opportunity to engage in species-appropriate behaviours in outdoor spaces, they can graze on grass, other native vegetation and/or cultivated crops. Such lower-input systems like pastoralism rely on native, geographically appropriate, breeds who are adapted to local forage and can graze on more marginal land like dry grasslands. With appropriate stocking densities, their well-balanced manure enriches the soil, promoting healthy plant growth and more biodiversity of bird and pollinator species. 

Changing the way we produce our food, especially regarding animal farming, has the potential to tackle the issues of all of the three COPs that are taking place this year: climate crisis, biodiversity crisis and land degradation. Now that we are coming close to the 2026 UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, we need to look closely at how these activities contribute to a sustainable environment. 

Stakeholders at COP16, as well as those shaping national and international soil legislation such as the upcoming EU Soil Monitoring Law, must recognize the interconnectedness between animal welfare and soil health and create the right conditions to support this transition. This starts with proper monitoring and reporting systems that can correctly assess the impact of animal farming on soils, but needs to continue with policy and funding frameworks that push for more sustainable ways of farming.