This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 at 8:14pm and is filed under Meat, Media and information, Local, Ranching, Agriculture, Environment, Economics, Farming, Food Production. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
One of the issues that people often bring up to me as a beef producer is the “footrprint” of eating meat versus a strictly vegetarian diet. I know that my cattle are raised on land that could not be (or should not be) used for any sort of cultivation, but I’ve been looking for some good research reports on the subject. I got some leads from friends at the American Farmland Trust.
A study at Cornell University looked at a range of diets in terms of how much of New York’s population could be fed by food produced within the state. Although a strictly vegetarian diet uses the least total land mass, a diet that includes some meat and dairy is more efficient in terms of total land use and sustainability. The reason is that fruits, vegetables and grains must be grown on high-quality cropland. Meat and dairy products from ruminant animals are supported by lower quality, but more widely available, land that can support pasture and hay.
The Delta Farm Press cites the same study, but also points out that biotechnology can further reduce the footprint through less chemicals (i.e. bt Cotton) or getting more production from fewer animals (i.e. rBST).
October 30th, 2008 at 2:19pm
This is what I have been saying on my blog too, that it is not an argument between eating meat or not. There are so many variables that come into play such as climate, vegetation type, availability of irrigation, etc. that determine whether or not consuming animal products is environmentally sustainable. In California, for example, the foothills are NOT appropriate for row crops since they lack irrigation and they are quite erosive. But they can support ruminants for a good portion of the year.
As for biotech making anything more ‘efficient’, all the studies point to two major problems- either increased use of herbicides or rapid resistance of the pest or weeds to the engineered trait. Biotech, up to this point, has been used to increase sales of pesticides, herbicides, and patented seeds, nothing more.
November 1st, 2008 at 9:46pm
Regarding the previous comment,one example of biotech efficiency is Bt corn. Not only does it eliminate the use of millions of pounds of insecticide and save millions of gallons of fuel and water per year, but it also is safer for food consumption. The use of Bt corn decreases fumonisin ( a fungal parasite) infestation by 80% compared to conventional and organic corn. Fumonisin is responsible for esphogeal cancer and neural disorders in infants.
Another example is Roundup Ready technology. Roundup Ready technology has allowed for glyphosate herbicide to substitute for 7.2 million pounds of other chemicals that are more toxic and persistent in the environment.
Resistance has always been an issue with the use of herbicides and pesticides way before the introduction of biotech crops. Even with natural crop rotation practices we have seen that some pests evolve to ‘extend’ diapause and infect crops in new ways.
March 2nd, 2010 at 3:24pm
[…] wholesaler status. Name (required) E-mail (required) Phone (optional) Question or Comment. One …Down to Earth - Raising Cattle, Kids and Consciousness Blog …The Delta Farm Press cites the same study, but also points out that biotechnology can further reduce […]
March 7th, 2010 at 2:55am
[…] An ‘efficient’ food supply By Brian Hayes Sara at Down To Earth Blog is wondering about our food. She raises quality small-lot beef. Study shows some meat/dairy is more efficient than total vegetarian diet […]
June 20th, 2010 at 3:43pm
I agree with that; “Study shows some meat/dairy is more efficient than total vegetarian diet” we have to consider the place where crop cannot be grown on high-quality cropland and meat is more available, like in California for instance.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:12pm
A vegetarian diet focuses on plants for food while dairy products are generally defined as foods produced from cow’s or domestic buffalo’s milk. Both has its nutritional content that produces our body a healthier lives. But one thing I thought is that plant products are healthier than animal products because they do not contain cholesterol and saturated fats, and their total fat content is lower.