Something to chew over

Spare a thought for the humble cow – our relationship with it may be destroying the earth

Rajendra Pachauri, the UN’s climate expert has decided that cutting down on the amount of meat we eat is one of the most effective means of addressing climate change.

Much of our livestock industry now works by feeding animals with grain, rather than letting them quietly munch in the meadows and hills.

Since it takes 7lbs of grain to make 1lb of beef, this is an extraordinarily inefficient process as compared with eating the grain ourselves. Half of the world’s wheat currently goes to animal feed and the requirement for more and more animal food is encouraging the destruction of rainforests and ecological degradation, together with increased use of oil-dependent fertilisers and pesticides and fresh water. This whole process, with all the extra fertiliser and transport, makes up a massive carbon dioxide emission.

Also…Ruminant animals like cows and sheep have an astonishing set of stomachs such that they belch methane continually. Each year every cow emits 100kg of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 23 times as powerful as carbon dioxide, and which is equivalent in global warming effects to one of us taking two return flights from London to New York. To halve our meat consumption in the UK would be equivalent, in global warming terms, to halving our car use.
The good news is that methane only hangs around in the atmosphere for a short time (it is half gone in 7 years) relative   to carbon dioxide (half gone in 150-200 years) so changes that we make to our agricultural system could have serious impact on global warming now.

I wonder how you feel about eating less meat? It is interesting that the editor/author of Genesis seems to tell a story of a progressive corruption of human beings from an apparent ideal state in Genesis One (v30) where animals ate only plants, through to the settlement after the flood when meat was allowed. (Genesis 9 v 3).

Whatever we make of that, the scientists are now telling us to beware the intensively farmed livestock industry.

There was once a cow called Genesis. It was cloned from a Holstein Heifer so as to produce 4000 gallons of milk a year. Wild cows produce about 350 gallons per year. Our average domestic cows produce 1000 litres. Some have been bred to make 2000 litres, when they are fed on special food, but their udders hang down so much they can hardly manage. Poor Genesis with her 4000 gallon routine. I hate to think of her udders.

The ‘Genesis the cow’ story is taken from Colin Tudge So Shall we reap 2003

Why do we want to eat so much meat? Can we do with less? For more see meat

Your comments.

I guess we could help by reducing our intake of milk as well as meat (though it pains me to say it, dairy food lover that I am!)

It is worth noting that some farmers don’t use grain to feed their cows, meat or dairy. Some organic farmers and a good number of bio-dynamic (demeter) farmers only use grass-silage-hay. Check out the source of your produce. Stroud Community Agriculture is amongst these farmers and nearby.

Also it is worth considering the role of the cow in making manure for the soil. The difference between the fossil fuel footprint of a manure composting system compared to chemical fertilisers is huge.
The cow has been the mainstay of soil fertility in europe for thousands of years, it the use of cows in chemicalized production-production-production factory style farming system that is source of much of issue here.

This is something I am actively encouraging my family to do, we are eating more grains and trying to source local and seasonal vegetables.