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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
And yes, as many of the commenters have said before me, overpopulation is far worse of an environmental issue than whether we enjoy a hamburger on occasion.
. . . conflation of animal rights issues with environmental issues. Right after telling us that chicken is pretty good environmentally, this author has to remind us of how these poor animals are treated. Huh - I though the subject was environmentalism? When we conflate the two we are likely to forget that the real issue is overpopulation. Don't forget, hunter/gatherer societies lived off the land with very little negative environmental impact - and guess what, they killed and ate animal flesh. Similarly, were I to kill and eat an animal living in its own natural environment in sustainable numbers (say the deer that are so plentiful in Michigan rural areas that many are starving), the action would have even less negative environmental impact than eating a vegan diet.
This is the article I've been agitating for for months! Ever since http://www.liveearth.org sent out a "Go veg" admonition with a link to the PETA website, I have been on their case to explain further exactly what the hell they're talking about and what small things I can do, short of going completely vegan (which is NOT an option for my 3-year-old), to help the environment. For example, if I start substituting ground turkey for ground beef in some of my recipes, am I heading in the right direction? I've asked Liveearth, I've asked 11th Hour, I've asked "the Lantern" over at Slate--no one seemed to want to run this story. Were they afraid of PETA demonstrators showing up at their offices in chicken suits?
I actually read that UN/FAO report on livestock, which is easy enough to find on line, and ended up somewhat confused, but generally of the opinion that beef cattle is about the worst for the environment, among the various types of livestock. It noted that poultry consume grubs and insects that would otherwise be consuming your fruits and veggies (thus reducing the need for chemical pest control), and the fact that goats graze on things we can't eat, in areas where we can't grow anything else (like rocky hillsides). Also, livestock is a vital emergency food source for people in developing nations, particularly in years of crop failure. Earlier posters are correct that the underlying problem here is overpopulation.
I'm not so sure I would agree, based on my reading of the UN report, that dairy consumption is as bad as beef. The US dairy industry sounds like it has its act together more so than the beef industry, and has learned to breed cattle that are giving more milk for less feed (I met a woman at a Maryland county fair who said her cow was producing 16 gallons a day). I'd love to see a third world development program that involved sharing these superior breeds of dairy cattle with third world farmers who are currently raising less efficient breeds (and possibly razing the rain forest in order to do so).
I also still really don't understand where pork fits into the picture.
However, one thing we probably all *could* do relatively easily is reduce our beef consumption (which would be beneficial to our own health), and purchase our meats at farmer's markets from local producers who raise their livestock humanely and farm sustainably. The fact that these meats are usually considerably more expensive than at the supermarket is, in my mind, a good thing, since that provides us with a financial disincentive to doing what we should be doing anyway, which is making the consumption of beef a "special occasion" dish, not an everyday item.
Cows are not the leading cause of methane emissions in the United States, for those of you worried about bovine bodily functions. The leading cause of methane emissions is the decomposition of organic material in the anaerobic conditions that exist in landfills. There are two ways to deal with this problem:
(1) recapture the methane and use it for energy production (see EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/lmop/overview.htm).
or
(2) allow the material to decompose in an aerobic, i.e., oxygenated state. Otherwise known as composting.
San Francisco and Seattle both have curbside composting programs. Residents sort out their food/yard waste from their non-organic waste. The organic material is taken out of the city to be professionally composted and is then provided to the California wine industry as the best fertilizer money can buy. So if you want to take a swipe at reducing greenhouse gases, go ask your municipal government why your city can't have something like this:
http://www.sunsetscavenger.com/composting.htm
It's nice to know that people care, find an issue and put their hearts and souls into it. Most people are far too comfortable and complacent to bother with anything beyond their myopic singular lives. However, I agree completely with those saying there is a middle way. The poster who said that PETA is taking things too far, is correct.
The last campaign PETA had that affected me was an ad where runway models were taking off fur coats and as they dragged down the catwalk, there was a trail of blood. It gave info about the number of small animals required to make a fashion statement and how they were killed. Disturbing and powerful.
About food: Most people do eat meat but maybe we don't need so much of it. Moderation is a good thing to discuss in any case. About population growth: Most countries are multiplying too fast, with too many births. If you check the stats you'll notice the citizens of the U.S. are having fewer babies and generations are stretched more than ever.
I guess what I am attempting to say is that at this point everyone is so checked out, that any group or person getting attention on a topic like the environment or cruelty to animals is at least trying to make changes. Even if they are annoying and missing the middle way. Even it they are screechy and self-righteous. Complacent is worse.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
