The Environmental Impact Reporting process has established that animal operations degrade air through emissions of ammonia, reactive organic compounds, hydrogen sulfide, methane and dust. The future of animal agriculture in California depends on the ability to quantify emissions and identify waste management and waste handling alternatives and animal management alternatives to reduce these emissions. The EIR process has likewise shown that there are only limited data of quality to identify the cumulative impact of intensive animal operations on ground water supplies. Increasingly stringent environmental regulations and suburban expansion are often in conflict with the economic viability of animal agriculture. But California animals contribute importantly to the nation's food supply, e.g., California is 1st in dairy, 5th in turkey and 11th in broiler production and is in the top ten in eggs and beef.
Animal agriculture is deeply interwoven with plants in the food production system.
Animals are important consumers of recycled by-products, roughages and plant materials that are not used for human food. The University has a responsibility to generate and extend unbiased, research-based knowledge to guide the positive evolution of animal agriculture in the state. Federal laws regarding air and water quality and population trends in California virtually guarantee that environmental concerns will remain a permanent feature of the state's agricultural landscape. Research Concern for environmental quality is reflected in the research funding priorities of virtually all federal, state, university and private agencies. For example, several environmental concerns are addressed in the USDA's Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 in such program areas as resource management, precision agriculture, invasive species and manure management.