Giving Compass' Take:

• Neo Chai Chin discusses the increase in Asia's demand for animal products and the negative impacts of deforestation, emissions, and use of antibiotics.

• What practices can farmers change to become more sustainable?

• Read about sustainability lessons from a young farmer.

Asia’s rising middle class is fueling a voracious appetite for animal protein, but many of its meat, fish and dairy suppliers are failing to manage impacts such as emissions, deforestation and water use.

Despite Asian companies making up nearly half, or 28, of the world’s 60 largest publicly listed animal protein producers, they are lagging when it comes to disclosure and commitments on deforestation and biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, animal welfare standards and use of antibiotics.

Seventy billion animals are processed each year to feed humans, and the US$1.5 trillion livestock farming industry accounts for 14 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. Farmed animals consume 73 percent of all antibiotics used in the world; in many instances, in healthy animals to help them grow faster.

The rapid growth of the meat sector in many Asian countries has led to more available cheap protein sources, the report noted. “However, these benefits have come at a steep cost: the sector is one of the primary drivers of the most serious environmental and social risks facing our planet and society,” it said.

“The lack of scrutiny on the sector has meant that these companies (breeding, growing and processing livestock and fish) have been allowed to scale their operations, markets and production volumes without clear controls,” it added. “This creates systemic risks: not just for companies, but also their global food customers, investors, consumers, and society at large.”

China, the world’s most populous country, is now the single biggest market for meat consumption and the report highlighted how it is driving deforestation on the other side of the world in Brazil.

China and Hong Kong account for about 38 percent of demand for Brazilian beef. Some 80 percent of Amazon forests cleared since 2014 have been occupied by cattle, the report noted.

Read the full article about the sustainability of Asia's meat, fish and dairy suppliers by Neo Chai Chin at Eco-Business.