How eating meat can save the planet

[Hawkeye1819]

Meat production is said to create a staggering 18 percent of the world's carbon emissions.

But in a new book being released in February 2011, Meat: A Benign Extravagance, Simon Fairlie claims that eating moderate amounts of meat could be greener than going vegan.

Fairlie argues that every agricultural system produces hard-to-use biomass that is best fed to livestock, and that animals kept on small farms also fend off predators and pests and fertilize the soil.

However, Fairlie tells Time magazine that:

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"... [O]f course, it is not what we eat individually -- it is what we eat as a whole society that has the impact on the environment. Some vegans may continue their vegan ways. I'm arguing for meat in moderation, not to eradicate meat entirely, nor to overconsume it."
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One of the greatest arguments that vegetarians and vegans use to support a meat-free diet is its apparent toll on the environment. And in its current state, industrial animal farming is an atrocity to the planet.

Just 2 percent of U.S. livestock facilities produce 40 percent of farm animals, and when you raise thousands of animals in one small space, you're left with a lot of waste. This is a form of animal rearing that is very unnatural, and as such leaves a devastating environmental footprint.

But when raised according to natural laws, Simon Fairlie, British farmer and author of Meat: A Benign Extravagance, argues that it can be quite healthful, even necessary, for the planet.

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The Environmental Argument FOR Eating Meat

As Fairlie tells Time magazine, and explains in much greater detail in Meat, many of the statistics that make meat eating seem akin to using the Grand Canyon as a garbage dump do not reveal the whole picture.
The UN's widely quoted statistic that meat produces 18 percent of the world's carbon emissions contains "basic mistakes," according to Fairlie, including attributing all deforestation to cattle, rather than logging and development. It's also widely stated that the ratio between plant foods used to produce meat is about 5 to 1.
However, Fairlie points out that this takes into account only feeding animals foods that humans eat, which is common practice in the United States. But if you feed livestock such as cattle their intended diets -- grass, which people do not eat -- the real ratio is 1.4 to 1 -- much more sustainable.

There are benefits, too, to small farming particularly, including fertilizing soil and eliminating pests and predators. Meanwhile, animals that can be fed off of food waste and whey, such as pigs, are incredibly easy on the environment. Likewise for cows that are fed grass, which Fairlie says are "on balance, benign" from an environmental perspective.

But there is a "catch" to Fairlie's assertions that meat-eating is beneficial for the planet … we would need to switch over toorganic farming, he says, as well as cut our meat consumption in half. In other words, in order for eating meat to become good for the environment, some major changes need to take place.

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Factory Farming is an Environmental Disaster

The industrial farming practices used to raise the majority of meat in the United States right now are in no way healthy -- for the animals, the environment or you.

In a small farm setting, animal waste is used to naturally fertilize the land, and in that way it becomes quite healthy. But in a factory farm setting there is no way you can use the millions of gallons of animal waste generated in a "beneficial" way. So, large "lagoons" are created to hold the waste or excessive amounts of the waste are sprayed onto crops in the area.

It is not at all unusual for this waste to leach into groundwater or run off into surface waters. At Farm Sanctuary, a farm animal protection organization, they explain what this means for the future of the environment:

"The quantity of waste produced by farm animals in the U.S. is more than 130 times greater than that produced by humans. Agricultural runoff has killed millions of fish, and is the main reason why 60% of America's rivers and streams are "impaired."

In states with concentrated animal agriculture, the waterways have become rife with pfiesteria bacteria. In addition to killing fish, pfiesteria causes open sores, nausea, memory loss, fatigue and disorientation in humans."

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There are other concerning issues too, like the fact that animals are raised in such filthy conditions and fed inferior-quality food so they must be given antibiotics to ward off illness. Agricultural antibiotic uses account for about 70 percent of all antibiotic use in the United States, so it's a MAJOR source of human antibiotic consumption.

Animals receiving antibiotics in their feed also gain 4 percent to 5 percent more body weight than animals that do not receive antibiotics, but the price is high for you, the end consumer, because this practice also creates the perfect conditions for antibiotic resistance to flourish.

And, of course, it goes without saying that these factory farming operations are typically behind the largest and most deadly food recalls in the United States, including the 2008 recall of 143 million pounds of beef and the recall of half a billion eggs earlier this year.

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Should Everyone Eat Meat?

There is no doubt that the farming methods currently being used as the primary model in the United States will end up sacrificing the environment and human health.

So, please, understand that any time I discuss meat consumption, it is with the explicit understanding that I only recommend humanely raised, organically farmed livestock that have roamed free, feeding on their natural food source, without any use of the antibiotics and other growth-promoting drugs typically used in conventional farming.

That said, I am not at all advocating everyone needs to eat meat, but it is my clinical observation that virtually everyone benefits from some animal protein.

In some cultures this may be very little and might just be the insects consumed in grains as in India. It is clear that meat is not necessary for most carb nutritional types, but they would benefit from other animal proteins like raw organic dairy and eggs.

From a dietary perspective, your nutritional type will determine what ratio of fats, carbohydrates and protein your body needs to thrive.

I believe it's safe to say we all need some of each of these three categories, but our bodies require different ratios of each. This means that some people will thrive on very large amounts of vegetables and very little animal protein. For others, this ratio would spell disaster for their health, and they will need greater amounts of animal protein.

Of course, the quality of the meat and the way it is cooked will also impact its health benefits.

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It's Time to Stop Supporting Factory Farms

From an environmental perspective, in the United States most people get their meat from completely unsustainable factory farms, a practice that would need to change in order for meat to become "environmentally friendly."

But once you become aware of the "rules" for healthy meat-eating, those that will protect not only your health but also the animals' and the planet's, this issue becomes a moot point because virtually no one should eat factory farmed meat.

The "rules" for healthful meat consumption:

• The meat should be organic and grass-fed
• It should ideally come from a local farmer (try finding a farmer's market or community-supported agriculture program in your area to do this) who can verify that the products are raised on pasture, without antibiotics and pesticides
• The animals should be allowed to live in their natural habitats, eating their natural diets
• The farmer should be aware of the relationships between animals, plants, insects, soil, water and habitat -- and how to use these relationships to create synergistic, self-supporting ecosystems

There is still a long way to go … organic food represents less than 2 percent of the food economy, and local food makes up well under 1 percent. I urge you to start supporting these economies in favor of the conventional model, for the sake of your health and the environment's, as well as to take a stand for the humane treatment of farm animals.
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[Hawkeye1819]

Why Vegetarians Are Eating Meat


BY CHRISTINE LENNON


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A growing number of vegetarians are starting to eat humanely raised meat. Christine Lennon talks to a few converts—including her husband and famed author Mollie Katzen.

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To a die-hard meat eater, there's nothing more irritating than a smug vegetarian. I feel at liberty to say this because I am one (a steak lover) and I married the other (a vegetarian with a pulpit). For me, "Do you now, or would you ever, eat meat?" has always been a question on par with "Do you ever want to get married?" and "Do you want children?" The answer to one reveals as much about a person's interior life, and our compatibility, as the response to the others. My husband Andrew's reply to all of those questions when I asked him three years ago was, "No."​

Obviously, we're now married. We had twins earlier this year. And somewhere in between those two events, the answer to the third question was also re-evaluated, and the vegetarian soapbox was put to rest, too.

Yes, my husband has started eating meat again after a seven-year hiatus as an ethically motivated and health-conscious vegetarian. About a year ago, we arrived at a compromise: I would eat less meat—choosing mostly beef, pork and poultry produced by local California ranchers without the use of hormones or antibiotics—and he would indulge me by sharing a steak on occasion. But arriving at that happy medium wasn't as straightforward as it sounds. In the three years we've been together, several turns of events have made both of us rethink our choices and decide that eating meat selectively is better for the planet and our own health. And judging by the conversations we've had with friends and acquaintances, we're not the only ones who believe this to be true.
For Andrew and about a dozen people in our circle who have recently converted from vegetarianism, eating sustainable meat purchased from small farmers is a new form of activism—a way of striking a blow against the factory farming of livestock that books like Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemmadescribe so damningly. Pollan extols the virtues of independent, small-scale food producers who raise pasture-fed livestock in a sustainable and ethical manner. In contrast, he provides a compelling critique of factory farms, which cram thousands of cows, pigs or chickens into rows of cages in warehouses, feed them drugs to plump up their meat and fight off the illnesses caused by these inhumane conditions, and produce innumerable tons of environmentally destructive animal waste.

The terms "grass fed" and "pasture raised"—meaning that an animal was allowed to graze the old-fashioned way instead of being fed an unnatural and difficult-to-digest diet of mostly corn and other grain—have now entered the food-shoppers' lexicon. But Andrew and I didn't fully understand what those phrases meant until we got to know Greg Nauta of Rocky Canyon Farms. Nauta is a small-scale rancher and farmer from Atascadero, California, who grows organic vegetables and raises about 35 animals on pastureland. Since we met him at the Hollywood Farmers' Market a year ago, it has become even clearer to us that supporting guys like him—by seeking out and paying a premium for sustainably raised meat—is the right thing for us to do.

Nauta's cattle graze on 200 leased acres of pasture in central California and are fed the leftover vegetables and fruits he grows that don't sell at the farmers' market, supplemented by locally grown barley grain on occasion. "That's dessert," he says of the barley, "not a main course. That would be like us eating ice cream every day."

Three times a week, Nauta loads his truck full of coolers stocked with cattleman's steaks and handmade pork sausages and drives to the Los Angeles–area farmers' markets. Selling his vegetables and meat directly to conscientious eaters, people to whom he talks weekly about rainfall averages and organic produce, Nauta says, is "the best way small guys like me can compete." In the past several months, Nauta has noticed a handful of curious vegetarians, like Andrew, wandering over to his booth to ask questions. And they're satisfied enough with the answers to give his meat a try—and come back for more.

If preserving small-scale farming isn't a compelling enough reason to eat beef or pork, consider the nutritional advantages grass-fed meat has over the factory-fed kind. "One of the benefits of all-grass-fed beef, or 'beef with benefits,' as we say, is that it's lower in fat than conventionally raised beef," says Kate Clancy, who studies nutrition and sustainable agriculture and was until recently the senior scientist at the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists. "The other thing is that the meat and milk from grass-fed cattle will probably have higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, which may help reduce the risk of heart disease and strengthen people's immune systems. What's good for the environment, what's good for cattle, is also good for us."

Combine these findings with the questions being raised about meat replacements derived from soy and wheat gluten, and the real thing seems better by the minute. "What we know about soy is that as you process it, you lose a lot of the benefits," says Ashley Koff, a Los Angeles–based registered dietician. "Any soy-based fake meat product is incredibly processed, and you have to use chemicals to get the mock flavor. Any other whole-food diet is going to be a lot better for you." Vegetarians like Andrew—he once brought a tofu sandwich to a famous Texas barbecue restaurant—may now have a harder time justifying their "healthier" dietary choices.

Former vegetarians are some of the most outspoken proponents of eating meat. "I was vegan for 16 years, and I truly believed I was doing the right thing for my health," says the actress and model Mariel Hemingway, who is the author of Healthy Living from the Inside Out. "But when I was vegan, I was super-weak. I love animals, and we should not support anything but ethical ranching, but when I eat meat, I feel more grounded. I have more energy."

Even chef Mollie Katzen, author of the vegetarian bible the Moosewood Cookbook, is experimenting with meat again. "For about 30 years I didn't eat meat at all, just a bite of fish every once in a while, and always some dairy," she says. "Lately, I've been eating a little meat. People say, 'Ha, ha, Mollie Katzen is eating steak.' But now that cleaner, naturally fed meat is available, it's a great option for anyone who's looking to complete his diet. Somehow, it got ascribed to me that I don't want people to eat meat. I've just wanted to supply possibilities that were low on the food chain."

Recently, when responding to the invitation to her high-school reunion, Katzen had to make a choice between the vegetarian and the conventional meal. She checked the nonvegetarian box. "The people who requested the vegetarian meal got fettuccine Alfredo," she says. "It's a bowl full of flour and butterfat. I'd much rather have vegetables and grains and a few bites of chicken."
For Andrew and many of our ex-vegetarian friends, the ethical reasons for eating meat, combined with the health-related ones, have been impossible to deny. "The way I see it, you've got three opportunities every day to act on your values and have an immediate effect on something you're concerned about," Andrew says. "You're probably worried about Darfur, too, but what can you do about that every single day? Write a letter? It doesn't have the same kind of impact."

Supporting ranchers we believe in, and the stores and restaurants that sell their products, has a very tangible impact that we experience firsthand all the time. But ask most vegetarians if the battle between small, sustainable ranchers and industrial farming is at the top of their list of concerns about eating meat, and you'll probably be met with a blank stare. "For people who are against eating meat because it's wrong or offensive to eat animals, even the cleanest grass-fed beef won't be good enough," Katzen says.
Convincing those people that eating meat can improve the welfare of the entire livestock population is a tough sell. But we'll keep trying. What we've discovered is that you can hover pretty close to the bottom of the food chain and still make a difference, quietly. We've found a healthy balance somewhere between the two extremes—which, come to think of it, is also a good way to approach a marriage.

Christine Lennon is a freelance writer in Los Angeles who regularly contributes to InStyle and Time.

 

[Physiocrat]

Cannibalism would solve both world hunger and overpopulation.

That should "save" the planet ("save" as in from the human lens/perspective)

 

[tonychat]

wahahhahaha....

meat eating loser coming in to counter my non meat stand....

i wish you early death from meat eating...

 

[tonychat]

Cannibalism would solve both world hunger and overpopulation.

That should "save" the planet ("save" as in from the human lens/perspective)

definitely a statement from a fucktard sinkie.

 

[Hawkeye1819]

These are the facts:

Sustainable agriculture requires both crop agriculture as well as animal husbandry/farming.

Farm animals feed on vegetable and plant matter that humans cannot consume. Thus, they help us eliminate much of the refuse/waste problem which we would otherwise have to dump into someone's backyard.

Animals are very efficient source of protein, we would need to eat many times more vegetables to get the same amounts of protein, and furthermore, there are some essential amino acids only found in animals and cannot be found in plants.

Animals also provide essential nutrients like B12 and other vitamins hard to obtain from just a plant diet alone.

It is a scientifically proven fact that vegan/vegetarian mothers put their foetus at risk of brain damage or other physical deformities, or at severe risk of poor health when they are born.

 

[tonychat]

I never taken any protein supplements all my life... protein supplements are for The uneducated ones.

B12 are not made in animals but from bacteria...I have supplements...a small effort for saving the animals from meat-eating losers.

Gees...why human have problem with too much cholesterol from meat eating? If they are naturally meat eaters, they should not have such problem.

 

[Agoraphobic]

Cannibalism would solve both world hunger and overpopulation...

Where can I get a recipe book for this cuisine? Can't find any at Amazon.com.

Cheers!

 

[looneytan]

definitely a statement from a fucktard sinkie.

fuck off, cheebye

who ask you to come into meat eaters thread

 

[Physiocrat]

Where can I get a recipe book for this cuisine? Can't find any at Amazon.com.

lol. You can try your luck searching those ancient religious books.