Climate Change and the Beef Industry:
Talk about a controversial topic, the only discussion more heated than climate change is probably healthcare, and that's mainly here in the U.S.A. But for the last few years, everywhere you turned there was talk about global warming, climate change, and the world coming to an end because of it. And many people around the world were quick to point the finger at agriculture as the main reason for global warming, with or without scientific proof. But I'll get to that in a little bit; first let's discuss global warming in general.
There are countless numbers of studies and predictive models that are projecting the polar ice caps are melting more and more everyday and are causing or will cause sea levels to rise and what not. A large part of the discussion on global warming is due to the 2007 climate summary prepared by the U.N. But according to an article in the Wall Street Journal by Kimberley A. Strassel, there are more than 700 scientists who disagree with the U.N. -- 13 times the number who authored the U.N.'s 2007 report. Also, Dr. Kiminori Itoh, a Japanese environmental physical chemist who contributed to a U.N. climate report, dubs man-made warming "the worst scientific scandal in history". Another example of how the world's point of view is changing, New Zealand last year elected a new government, which immediately suspended the country's weeks-old cap-and-trade program. Furthermore, data shows that the earth's temperatures have flat-lined since 2001, despite growing concentrations of CO2 (June 26, 2009). All of this only adds to the fact that global warming is not all it's cracked up to be.
Now, to the matter at hand, let’s look at how the beef industry affects the environment (note the following list was originally compiled by Amanda Nolz - BEEF Daily blogger, they were too good not to include in this post):
1. American agriculture is sustainable for the future. In the United States, 98 percent of farms are family farms. Today's American farmer feeds about 144 people worldwide. 2009 versus 1960: 1.8 million less farms are feeding a U.S. population that has increased 61 percent. (Explore Beef)
2. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the entire U.S. agriculture sector accounts for only 6 percent of annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Of this, livestock production is estimated to account for 2.8 percent of total U.S. emissions. (EPA Climate Change Report)
3. If livestock production disappeared tomorrow, wouldn't we just be transporting more tofu around? And wouldn't we just be plowing and fertilizing the land to supply PETA's vegetarian utopia? (Center for Consumer Freedom)
4. Grazing animals on land not suitable for producing crops more than doubles the land area that can be used to produce food. If 1955 technology were used to produce the amount of beef raised today, 165 million acres of land would be needed - that's about the size of Texas! (Explore Beef)
5. Each year, outstanding ranching families are recognized through a prestigious award, the Environmental Stewardship Award Program. The award is presented each year by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and The National Cattlemen's Foundation, and is sponsored by Dow AgroSciences and USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service at the annual Cattle Industry Annual Convention. (Read about the regional winners at BEEF)
6. Cattle do more than just provide us with nutritious beef. They also make significant contributions to our lives... and the planet. Cattle convert inedible cellulose (grass) to nutritious beef. When cattle graze, the "aerate" the soil with their hooves, which allows more oxygen and water to enter. They also press grass seed into the soil, so it can start growing. They provide a natural fertilizer in the form of manure. Cattle also reduce the length of grass and brush when they graze, which is helpful in reducing the spread of wildfires since there is less flammable material. In addition, cattle primarily graze on grass, but they also eat waste products from food processing such as potato skins, distillers grains, fruit pits, almond hulls and sugar beet pulp. (Wow That Cow!)
7. Beef by-products enable us to use 99% of every beef animal, and these products are a part of our daily lives. Beef by-products include leather, candles, toothpaste, deodorants, crayons, textiles, cosmetics, rubber tires, insulin, high glass for magazines, asphalt, fertilizers, cement blocks, hydraulic brake fluid, car polishes and waxes, detergents, shaving cream, soaps, shampoo, paint, chewing gum, marshmallows, and the list goes on, and on, and on. Can you go a day without using a cattle by-product? (When is a Cow More Than a Cow?)
8. There are 29 cuts of beef that meet the government labeling guidelines for lean. Each one contains less than 10 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per 3.5 oz. serving. Calorie-for-calorie, beef is the most nutrient-dense food including nine essential nutrients, including a good source of zinc, iron and protein. And did you know, beef has the same heart-healthy fats as olive oil? (Beef, It's What's For Dinner)
9. According to a 1993 article in the Journal of Animal Science by J. Beckett and J. Oltjen, total livestock production accounts for just over 11 percent of all U.S. water use in the United States. This includes the water to grow crops fed to livestock, which accounts for 9.7 percent of all water use, and livestock consumption, at 1.2 percent of all water use. (Journal of Animal Science)
10. Rangelands and pastures provide forage and habitat for numerous wildlife species, including 20 million deer, 500,000 pronghorn antelope, 400,000 elk and 55,000 feral horses and burros. Last year, more than 2,000 ranchers and farmers entered into landowner agreements with the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. About a billion acres, or 55 percent of the total land surface in the United States, is rangeland, pasture and forages. (Beef, From Pasture to Plate)
After reading these 10 facts, it should be clear that Agriculture and the Beef industry are not harming the environment nor are they contributing to climate change of any kind. Farmers are the original environmentalists, they realized from the get go, that they had to treat the land and animals right, so that they could produce safe, healthly and nutritious products that are high in quality, not only to continue to be profitable and make a living, but because it was the right thing to do!
A lot of people criticize the technologies used by modern day agriculture, and say they are unsafe, unhealthy, and unnecessary. They usually base all of this on unfound or bias scientific information that was put together by somebody or a entity that got paid to put the information together (i.e. studies and reports from the Humane Society of the United States and PETA), instead of having accredited universities from all over the world do the unbiased research. They do this to put fear in the minds of the general public so that they can persuade them to follow their mantra of killing animal agricutlure forever, and will use any means necessary (just like methane gas from cows contributes to global warming).
Finally, farmers and ranchers deeply care about the environment and their animals. And with that, I will leave you with this:
"No greater purpose has any man than to tend the herd and till the sod, and leave behind him greater still, those acres leased to him by God" ~ Unkown
