A Glance at Ag #5

OCTOBER 13, 2019

Here are some resources I’ve found recently to help us digest what’s going on in the agriculture industry. Consider each resource as “food for thought” in our own journeys of understanding food, and let’s ask questions to allow us to continually learn and grow.

This edition of “A Glance at Ag” focuses on the impact of livestock on the environment – busting myths, understanding how humans contribute to greenhouse gases outside of livestock production, and learning about how we can be smarter about food production to preserve the environment.

These articles are to challenge us all on our traditional thinking of meat consumption, both as consumers in eating habits and livestock producers in management styles.

• THE “EAT LESS MEAT” MOVEMENT IS GROWING. DOES IT DISTORT SCIENCE?

Lynne Curry describes all sides of why or why not eating less meat will actually contribute (or not) to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Curry explains how livestock are “essential tools in a functioning agroecological system—ones that provide a highly nutritious, salable food product.” She brings to light that people have a misunderstanding of animals interact and impact the world – both positively and negatively.

This article does a thorough job of explaining myths and truths behind our fear of consuming livestock and why cutting meat out of our diet will actually disrupt our diets, environment, and natural systems.

• YES, EATING MEAT AFFECTS THE ENVIRONMENT, BUT COWS ARE NOT KILLING THE CLIMATE

Not only do we need to comprehend how animals positively impact the environment, it’s time for us to understand that humans are daily contributing more to greenhouse gas emissions than livestock production in the United States. As Emily Costello explains, livestock can consume food that humans can’t, and when they do so, they’re utilizing our resources in ways humans can’t do so. Additionally, there are millions of acres of range land that can only be used for grazing livestock. There is a growing opportunity for meat to be a part of developing countries’ diets, so animal agriculture is essential to our growing population.

Quick fact: “According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the largest sources of U.S. GHG emissions in 2016 were electricity production (28 percent of total emissions), transportation (28 percent) and industry (22 percent). All of agriculture accounted for a total of 9 percent. All of animal agriculture contributes less than half of this amount, representing 3.9 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. That’s very different from claiming livestock represents as much or more than transportation.”

• METHANE ISN’T JUST COW FARTS; IT’S ALSO COW BURPS (AND OTHER WEIRD FACTS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THIS POTENT GREENHOUSE GAS)

There’s a lot of talk about methane and how it’s contributing to climate change. In this TED piece by Kate Torgovnick May, she explains that cows aren’t the sole contributor of this gas to our atmosphere. If we look at methane on earth, natural processes around the planet and other human created products/processes (think: plastic bags, oil and gas industry, decay in landfills) are contributing signifcantly to the greenhouse gas.

Quick fact: “All over the world, farmers are investing in methane digester systems to capture the methane that builds up in their manure tanks (the manure is later used for fertilizer). This methane can be used to fuel their operations, or be sold to power companies.”

• ARE COWS BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?

Each and every product you eat – from lettuce to bread to a steak – has an environmental impact. Fortunately, as Dr. Jude Capper writes, we have the ability to choose food based on how it was raised or grown. We have to remember that in order to eat any food, we have to utilize resources to do it. But we can be smarter about how we use those resources. In this piece, Capper briefly describes how we can have a more neutral impact on greenhouse gas emissions in food production.

Quick fact: “Although all foods vary in greenhouse gas emissions, it’s also important to look at the bigger picture – we need to account for the nutritional value of foods as well as the greenhouse gas emissions,” Dr. Capper said. “For example, lettuce may have a lower carbon footprint per pound than beef, but beef provides far more nutrients per unit of mass. Furthermore, we need to look at the bigger environmental picture – biodiversity, water use, land use and many other factors need to be considered, not just greenhouse gases.”

(Disclaimer on one of her quotes: cows actually have one stomach encompassing four compartments…not four stomachs. Look here for more information on that.)

• MEAT IS MAGNIFICENT: WATER, CARBON, METHANE & NUTRITION

Although there are some pieces of this post that I don’t wholly agree with, I believe understanding that “Meat is not evil” as a vital truth is imperative in our current society. However, I value that Diana Rogers breaks down myths into truthful, reliable science in here – explaining everything from grey water to carbon sequestering land use. At the end of the day, what I take away from this is that it takes all kinds of kinds in order to have a sustainable system for the enviroment globally and a healthy diet for us individually. It’s important that we think critically about where our food comes from not only for our planet, but for ourselves getting all the nutrients we need…which almost always includes animal products or by-products. If you’re looking for some resources on this topic, I suggest glancing at this post for some places to start.

If you have any thoughts on the above links, or if you find any helpful or insightful resources in your internet searching, please send them to me on social media (below) or on my contact page.