Vegan Agriculture全素农业

Vegan farming has become more and more popular. It is one of the most environmentally-friendly forms of agriculture. Vegan farming or plant-based farming is an approach to grow plants such as vegetables without using animal-derived materials such as manure or animal byproducts （e.g. animal bone meal） and waste. Also， vegan farmers are far from applying synthetic fertilizers. Such an approach to farming also helps preserve the environment and regenerate soil fertility and replenish its biodiversity.

全素农业越来越受欢迎了，它是最环保的农业种植方式之一。全素农业或称植物源性农业是种植蔬菜等植物的一种方法，这种方法不使用粪肥等动物衍生物料或动物副产品（如动物骨粉）和粪便。此外，全素种植者也绝不会使用合成肥料。这种耕作方式不仅有助于保护环境、恢复土壤肥力，还有助于增加生物多样性。

In today’s world， the vegan diet and lifestyle are getting more and more popular. According to the AT Kearney1 analysis， it is anticipated that 40% of people globally will have meat in their diet by 2040. People decide to switch to a diet with less or even no animal-derived products for many different reasons. Some are worried about animal rights in various industries; some do that for their health， or the environmental effect animal products have; others choose this path simply for their well-being： many people， many reasons to choose veganism. However， no matter what the motive is， the rise of veganism creates new demand for more vegan-friendly agriculture.

当今世界，纯素饮食和纯素生活方式越来越普遍了。根据科尔尼公司的分析，到2040年，预计全球40%的人的饮食中将含有肉类。人们选择少吃甚至不吃动物衍生产品有许多不同的原因。一些人担心各行各业对动物权益的侵害;有些人这样做是考虑到他们自身的健康，或者说动物产品对环境的影响;另一些人选择这条路只是为了他们自己的幸福安康：不同的人，选择纯素饮食的原因也不同。然而，不管动机是什么，纯素食主义的兴起促使人们对纯素食友好型农业产生了新的需求。

It is essential to note that vegan agri-culture is not the same as an organic one. Organic farming uses natural products to grow plants—that can include even animal waste as fertilizers. It avoids most if not all synthetic products. On the other hand， vegan agriculture rejects animal-derived products and usually sticks with plant-based organic compounds， which means that， in general， vegan agriculture has stricter rules than organic.

需要注意的是，全素农业与有机农业是不同的。有机农业使用天然产品来种植植物，连动物粪便都可作为肥料。有机农业基本不使用人工合成肥料。另一方面，全素农业拒绝动物衍生物料，通常只使用植物性有机化合物，这意味着，一般来说，全素农业比有机农业有着更严格的规定。

You might think that conventional farming doesn’t require many animal-derived products， and if it does， they are easily replaceable. However， you would be wrong. For example， to supplement plants with nitrogen-rich compounds， they are often given fertilizers made partly from animal excrement.

你也许会认为传统农业不需要很多动物衍生品，如果确实需要的话，这些衍生物料也是很容易被替代的。但是，你错了。比如，为了给植物补充富含氮的化合物，人们经常使用部分由动物粪便制成的肥料。

To protect the environment， it would be recommended to reduce the amount of livestock bred， convincing farmers to not count only on animal-derived products in fertilizing as much as they do right now. Are animal-based excrements harmful to the environment？ Of course， the problem is not the existence of livestock like cows or pigs; it’s about the fact that they produce a lot of ammonia in such an amount. Ammonia is an alkalic compound that can be very dangerous in an excessive amount in an environment. It can cause the eutrophication of surface waters—which ends up reducing biodiversity in that area. Ironically， too much ammonia can also damage more sensitive crops by over-fertilizing them or changing the soil pH.

为了保护环境，建议人们减少牲畜养殖数量，说服农民不要像现在这样只靠动物衍生物料来作为肥料。动物粪便对环境有害吗？当然，问题并不在于牛和猪之类家畜的要不要存在，而在于这些家畜会排放大量的氨气。氨是一种碱性化合物，环境中氨气过量可能非常危险。它会导致地表水富营养化，最终减少该地区的生物多样性。具有讽刺意味的是，过多的氨还会使较敏感的作物因肥料过量或土壤酸碱度改变而受损。

Is replacing all animal-derived products used for soil fertilizing even possible？ Well， let’s take a closer look at that field.

有没有可能将所有用于土壤增肥的动物衍生物料都替换掉？我们来仔细看看这个问题。

Instead of traditional fertilizers made with animal products such as manure or slaughterhouse waste， it is possible to use other options. For example， only using mineral fertilizers seems to be a pretty good option compared to using both animal and mineral ones—it’s unnecessary to use more mineral fertilizer. However， there might be 10% fewer crops， and over time the soil might have a lower concentration of certain macro-elements like iron， manganese， etc.， that are needed for the proper growth of plants and other organisms.

用粪便或屠宰场废物等动物衍生品制成的传统肥料，可以用其他肥料来替代。比如，与同时使用动物肥料和无机肥料相比，只使用无机肥料似乎是一个很好的选择（没必要增加无机肥料的使用量）。然而，这样的话，作物的产量有可能会减少10%，而且随着时间的推移，土壤中某些常量元素的浓度也可能会降低，如铁、锰等，这些元素是植物和其他生物正常生长所需要的。

On the other hand， there is also a possibility of using organic， vegetal fertilizers， including wastewater from the crops and making it a very sustainable way of fertilizing plants. This method shows many positive effects， such as the better structure of the soil in long-term use， which could potentially help with soil quality.

另一方面，还有一种可能性是使用有机植物肥料，包括农作物废水，并使其成为一种非常可持续的植物施肥方式。这种方法有许多积极的效果，比如，长期使用这种施肥方式，土壤结构会变好，可能有助于提高土壤质量。

Additionally， vegan-organic farming usually chooses more natural ways to protect the plants， such as breaking cycles of plants’ diseases with mixed cropping， using mechanical barriers such as nets， or even attracting opposing organisms to fight the harmful ones. Those ways affect the environment less than the ways of traditional farming. However， they might be less effective against certain plant diseases or pests.