[rangerone314]

If global warming is considered either moot or not a problem, then how about the 5,000 gallons water it takes to produce one pound of meat?

Or about 10 lbs of feed, like corn, to make a pound of meat?

Farting cows is one thing, but fresh water is an issue, and so is that fact that we are using so much land to feed animals.

[hardtootell-2]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rangerone314', 'I')f global warming is considered either moot or not a problem, then how about the 5,000 gallons water it takes to produce one pound of meat?

Or about 10 lbs of feed, like corn, to make a pound of meat?

Farting cows is one thing, but fresh water is an issue, and so is that fact that we are using so much land to feed animals.

[mos6507]

If the cows were not eating soybeans how much less land would they require to be fed grass? I know the information is out there, but I haven't seen these sorts of comparisons. It seems to me that industrialized agriculture is driven in large part due to the need to minimize human labor, and having cows spread out in a pasture doesn't lend itself to that, such that cost would skyrocket for grass-fed dairy and beef. But I'd like to be pointed to some data if there is some. I know all about Salatin and his operation. I'm talking about the feasibility of scaling this out.

[hardtootell-2]

Mos

I don't think it matters that much what they are fed. Cattle, at least, are ruminants and they produce large quantities of methane (100l/day/cow) as a product of breaking down cellulose in their rumen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumen

Oh Oh- I may be getting off topic a little- "Dont taze me bro"

[dohboi]

There are, of course, other benefits to reducing your meat consumption:

The China Study

"The authors state that “as blood cholesterol levels in rural China rose in certain counties the incidence of “Western” diseases also increased. What made this so surprising was that Chinese levels were far lower than we had expected. The average level of blood cholesterol was only 127 mg/dl, which is almost 100 points less than the American average (215 mg/dl). ...Some counties had average levels as low as 94 mg/dl. …For two groups of about twenty-five women in the inner part of China, average blood cholesterol was at the amazingly low level of 80 mg/dl.”

The authors state that “several studies have now shown, in both experimental animals and in humans, that consuming animal-based protein increases blood cholesterol levels."

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'P')eople will need to consider turning vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global warming.

[davep]

The chap actually just said that people should eat less meat. He was on the radio after the Times article, saying the article was incorrect.

[jedrider]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('davep', 'T')he chap actually just said that people should eat less meat. He was on the radio after the Times article, saying the article was incorrect.

[frankthetank]

Screw the planet , give up meat to save your life! Anyone seen Food Inc?

[jedrider]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'S')crew the planet , give up meat to save your life! Anyone seen Food Inc?

[dohboi]

And of course, there is always...

The Meatrix!

[jedrider]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dohboi', 'A')nd of course, there is always...

The Meatrix

[hardtootell-2]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dohboi', 'A')nd of course, there is always...

The Meatrix!

[Pops]

Unfortunately, methane comes from gut flora digesting cellulose - the main carb in grass. The more starch (grain) fed as carb ration, the less methane is produced because cows can digest starch directly. Grain finishing also gives higher daily gain.

Aside from all the other problems with CAFOs it's probably safe to say they produce less warming than grass finishing mainly because methane is such a potent GHG. I've read of some research into developing more easily digested grass but not seen anything in a year or so...

[nocar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'J')onathan Scurlock, of the National Farmers Union, said: “Going vegetarian is not a worldwide solution. It’s not a view shared by the NFU. Farmers in this country are interested in evidence-based policymaking. We don’t have a methane-free cow or pig available to us.”

[dohboi]

"Fish are better protein converters than birds or mammals because they are cold-blooded and do not waste a lot of food energy in just keeping warm."

Perhaps, but if you have to chug out into the middle of the ocean to catch the fish, then haul them back in to shore and put them on an airplane for fresh fish meals in the midwest, you're still going to end up with a mighty high carbon footprint.

According to this excellent video (about half way through, as I recall) fish are very high impact indeed:

post peak

[Pops]

Really, there isn't any food that is going to feed 9 billion people with no impact on the environment.

Ausies are trying to figure out how to reduce the amount of methane producing bacteria in cattle. The problem is the methane bacteria reduce hydrogen in the gut which is important for some reason beyond my understanding.

http://www.csiro.au/files/mediaRelease/ ... estion.htm

[dohboi]

I wasn't aware that the Aussies were doing research into this, too. A few years ago, I heard that folks in New Zealand were trying to crack this nut, since sheep...off-gassing represents a significant portion of their contribution to GHG's (most of their electricity comes from hydro, I believe.)

No one is pretending that there are zero-impact ways of doing anything, but I do think it is important to have some idea of whether some activities (gastronomic or otherwise) have impacts multiple times greater than others that give comparable values (in nutrition, if not in pleasure or other hard-to-quantify areas).

[Pops]

Here in Missouri there is a large contingent of New Zealand Dairymen building grass based dairy farms - BIG farms, so I'm not surprised they are interested too.

[frankthetank]

Grass fed=omega3s (GOOD)
Grain fed =omega6s (too many BAD)

Big reason right there to make the switch. Our lack of omega3s in our diets right now can be linked to all kinds of ailments. Its the reason cold water fish our so healthy, along with flax and hemp.