Document Type

Theses, Masters

Rights

This item is available under a Creative Commons License for non-commercial use only

Disciplines

Computer Sciences

Publication Details

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Technological University Dublin for the degree of M. Sc. in Computing (Data Analysis), 2016.

Abstract

Several studies have shown that animal agriculture is one of the major contributors to climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, land degradation, freshwater shortages, general environmental pollution and world hunger. Apart from this, meat consumption is strongly associated with certain fatal health conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes (Wu, 2014). Although meat production and export could be economically beneficial in the short run, it could lead to over-exploitation of natural resources and in turn the destruction of the environment in the long run. Hence, it is essential for the leaders of a nation to make smart decisions when it comes to economic policies; especially while dealing with resource intensive economic sectors such as animal agriculture. But, striking the right balance between the economic benefits and consequent trade-offs in the environmental realm is possible only through well-informed decisions which in turn are only possible if the effects of animal agriculture could be quantified in terms of an established unit of measurement such as welfare indicators. This research intends to explain Human Sustainable Development Index (HSDI) and Child Health Indicator (CHI) in terms of different components of animal agriculture.


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