The pasture is an example of sustainable economic use and in it many livestock breeds are raised whose meat has an excellent nutritional quality. In this chapter we interview Carlos Palacios Riocerezo, scientist from the research group ‘Food: production, preparation and characterization’ at the University of Salamanca.
“My work focuses on adapting livestock to the new opportunities in European markets. One of the lines is ecological certification and the pasture is a unique example in Europe of an extensive system . For centuries farmers and especially ranchers have fed their livestock here, and this type of exploitation has shaped this landscape so characteristic of the Iberian Peninsula ”, the researcher explains.
More quality
As Palacios reminds us, the quality of ruminant meat that is produced linked to a diet with green grass is very high, and the same happens with pigs that eat acorns. “Depending on what an animal eats, the quality of its meat varies a lot, and natural environments confer characteristics and flavor to the products that are highly valued at the moment.”
Better for the environment
From an environmental point of view, this type of meat production helps combat climate change: “To begin with, they help maintain an ecosystem rich in vegetation, which sequesters carbon. Obviously animals emit, but their emissions are balanced by what the environment sequesters ”, explains the scientist. “In industrial systems there is no such compensation. Furthermore, in the pasture or in other extensive systems the animals have all their food on site, it is not necessary to take it away, thereby avoiding emissions from transport . Large industrial productions generate many inputs ”.
To close the circle, the ideal would be for the products to be consumed in towns and cities close to the place of origin, something very difficult to achieve usually, with a centralized distribution system that ends up incorporating costs into the entire chain: producer charges very little and the consumer pays a lot ”, reflects the researcher.
Science on the Street is a project carried out in collaboration with the Scientific Culture Unit of the University of Salamanca. Our goal is to get scientists out of the lab and into the outside world so they can tell us what they do. We will be with them in the bar, in the gym, in the pool … even in an airport!
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