Is Beef Bad for the Environment?

kuhewa 4 years ago |

Yes, it is bad for the environment, and comparisons of the best-case grass-fed, regenerative agriculture, ideal conditions vs the worst version of agriculture to produce a plant based don't change that.

soonnow 4 years ago |

This was an interesting read. I believe the way to attack climate change is by attacking the biggest producers globally and not by going after categories that produce insignificant amounts but are easy to attack, mostly because of envy.

Climate change will not be solved by getting rid of motorcycles in Europe but rather needs to be looked at globally.

For the suggestions by the author I wonder how that kind of agriculture would work on a global scale? I'm not sure that the world could be fed by this style of agriculture.

peach 4 years ago |

Honest question: is anyone addressing the fact that cattle size in Europe hasn't changed much in the last 100 years while it has skyrocketed in e.g. South America? Isn't that a bit worrying? Are they overproducing? Or am I missing something glaring?

spfzero 4 years ago |

The points made here about land utilization are important. The conversation around soil runoff and glyphosphate needs to take precedence. Far more damage is being done to human health by industrial wheat, corn, and soy farming, than cattle grazing.

kuhewa 4 years ago | |

> Far more damage is being done to human health by industrial wheat, corn, and soy farming, than cattle grazing.

But most cattle production (in the US at least) involves converting those crops to cattle with a conversion ratio that is pretty poor. You can't have a discussion about reform/reduction of monoculture crops without it necessitating a significant reduction in livestock production.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/665482/map...

spfzero 4 years ago | | |

You're right, standard CAFO-raised beef requires lots of corn. Grass-fed not so much.

kuhewa 4 years ago | | |

But we can't produce anywhere near as much beef as we currently do if it is entirely grass-fed and finished. Not without an unfeasible increase in land use footprint. Hence the conversation necessitates a large reduction in livestock production regardless.

tuatoru 4 years ago | |

This is why biofuels are evil.