Green criminology refers to the study of environmental crime and harm affecting human and non-human life, ecosystems, and the biosphere - more specifically analyzing the causes, consequences, and prevalence of environmental crime and harm, the responses to and prevention of environmental crime and harm by the legal system and by non-governmental entities and social movements, as well as the meaning and mediated representations of environmental crime and harm (Brosnan and South, 2018). Moreover, it can be argued that the pursuit of our interests has led us to the ecological situation that we are now in. This argument leads to the theory of anthropocentrism, which is defined as the belief that value is human-centered and that all other beings are means to human ends - in an anthropocentric ethic, nature deserves moral consideration because how nature is treated affects humans as a result. From an anthropocentric perspective, humans are viewed as separate from, rather than part of, the world's ecosystems and the integrity of these non-human ecosystems or entities (e.g. air, plants, soil, water) is of concern only insofar as they stand to benefit the human species. Under anthropocentrism, little consideration is given to the idea that human welfare is wholly dependent on the long-term survival of non-human entities (. ref
'There is as yet no ethic dealing with man's relation to land and to the animals and plants which grow upon it - The extension of ethics to this third element in (the) human environment is - an evolutionary possibility and ecological necessity.'
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Leopold sometimes referred to as the father of environmental ethics, expressed his anthropocentric beliefs over 50 years ago in his revolutionary essay 'The Land Ethic' - which is interesting to consider as today, we have not accomplished the 'ecological necessity' he called for. This brings us to the question, how do we establish a sustainable relationship within the ecosphere we depend?
This furthermore suggests that the primacy of humanity, through relegating animal life to insentient objects with the core purpose of production alludes to the scales of value, and how nature and the value of nature within the Anthropocene is relegated to just 'providing a service'.
Environmentally concerned authors have argued that anthropocentrism is ethically wrong and at the root of the ecological crises
The environmental crime stated forms, causation, and impact
Despite animal welfare being increasingly protected within domestic jurisdictions, animal rights are still hardly recognized. In May 2018, previous US president Donald Trump, when discussing illegal border crossings stated 'We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in - and we're stopping a lot of them - but we're taking people out of the country. You wouldn't believe how bad these people are. These aren't people. These are animals.' Such dehumanization (in this instance - of foreigners at the Californian-Mexican border) has historically been a standard discursive strategy used to facilitate violence committed by humans against other humans, by disregarding the rights of humans and degrading them to that of animals, it almost endorses the harm imputed on animals. Furthermore, animals have been protected by objective standards rather than through rights in a growing number of states around the world. The primacy of humanity, through relegating animal life to simply food or farming, etc. reiterates the scales of value (anthropocentrism, zoocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism)
Interactions established with other life on earth, whether it be with humans, animals, or nature, are complex and diverse and indicate different levels of moral concern. As regards who, or what is included in the bioethical community, four domains are classically considered - anthropocentrism, zoocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism; anthropocentrism considers that only human morals are of importance, zoocentrism includes other animals as having morals alongside humans, biocentrism offers moral standing to all living beings, and ecocentrism expands all moral concern to include all nature, whether it be living or non-living e.g. the ecosphere.
Animal abuse is said to result from ignorance about the abusive consequences of our behavior toward animals, the belief that abuse is justified, and the perception that abuse is personally beneficial. Social and behavioral scientists have paid little attention to the causes of animal abuse, despite the pervasive nature of such abuse and the tremendous suffering involved; Bryant and Snizek (1993) in fact, have gone as far as to state that 'no area of human-animal behavior is more neglected than animal-related crime and deviance'. Beirne (1995, 1998) has also commented on this neglect and has called on criminologists to devote more attention to this issue. It's important to analyze the root causes of animal abuse for two reasons; first, animals are worthy of moral consideration in their own right, moral philosophers, social theorists, and feminist theorists have made compelling arguments to this effect, although there is still some debate over the precise moral status of animals. Moreover, survey data suggests that most US citizens grant animals some moral consideration (Nibert, 1994)
It can be argued that masculinities play a significant influence in animal cruelty and abuse (Nurse, 2020), and it is well-known in an academic debate that criminality is mostly a male issue (Groombridge, 1998). Masculine-based animal harm is also connected to other forms of offending, such as in domestic contexts, where animal harm is a means for men to display and validate their masculinity in difficult social contexts. As a result, animal harm may be linked to male control, where a perceived loss of power or challenge to masculine authority may result in animal cruelty. As a result, animal cruelty is arguably used to reestablish masculinity, and animal victimization is part of a larger concept of victimization of the defenseless; however, relying on prison as a primary deterrent or consequence may be counterproductive, encouraging the very masculinities that underpin criminal behavior. The public policy response to 'masculine crimes,' defined as crimes of a distinctly masculine nature and with stereotypically masculine behaviors (Nurse 2013a), indicates acceptance of male criminals' proclivity for violence and is comparable to that used for organized crime (Nurse 2012, 2013a). therefore-
Agricultural intensification is based on an agricultural modernization narrative that measures progress in terms of efficiency and productivity gains. Following WWII, dairy systems in the EU, North America, Australia, and New Zealand grew rapidly (Friedberg, 2009). Traditionally, livestock producers produced both meat and dairy, but specialized dairy farms have become more frequent. The dairy sector was further revolutionized by the shift from pasture-based to confinement feeding systems, which enabled constant output year-round to meet the expanding demand for milk. Individual cows, farms, and dairy production regions all benefited from these processes; for example, the US dairy herd produced three times as much milk in 2001 as it did in 1950, although having 30% fewer cows (Blayney, 2002). Larger herds, breeding technologies, indoor housing feeding, energy, and protein-dense commercial feeds, antibiotics and growth hormones, and specialized workers or machines are all part of farm specialization and mechanization strategies. Cows are artificially inseminated at a young age and milked for just a few years until their productivity begins to decrease due to the steep declines in animal health caused by continuous pregnancy and lactation (Oltenacu and Broom, 2010). Cows are frequently housed indoors, sometimes year-round, in highly intensive operations, with stall-feeding regimes of imported cereals and oilseed proteins to ensure consistent milk production. As a result, intensive dairy operations rely substantially on external inputs such as feed produced off-farm and carried long distances, water for animals, pasture irrigation, and infrastructure for milking and waste treatment.
Depending on farm management practices, the environmental impacts of dairy production can differ significantly (Poore and Nemecek, 2018). Intensive dairy systems' increased dependence on inputs has the potential to worsen certain negative environmental effects, both directly and indirectly. Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), soil and water contamination, habitat loss and wildlife health, nutrient cycles (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus), and land use change are all common environmental impacts of dairy systems.
Tackling the problem
There is a need for more studies exploring the socioecological struggles that emerge amid the complexities of the agriculture industry, something that unfolds in different places over time. For instance, research might look into how transitions to intensive production and alternative production modes (such as organic) can renounce agro-industrial modes of production or, on the other hand, how they can recreate aspects of traditional production systems. Given the complicated and political nature of dairy system changes, studies should look at how systemic factors (such as farm size, supply chains, and policies) interact with social and environmental contexts (Wilson and Burton, 2015) to reduce the harm caused.
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