Cattle's Effect on Environment Not All It's Belched Up to Be

The flatulence of dear Betsy out in the field is bringing down the world... sounds pretty funny doesn't it? That's because it is just that, nonsense. In a climate change report entitled "Livestock's Long Shadow" by the U.N.'s Intergovernment Panel, livestock production, particularly grain fed beef production, is falsely accused of causing 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The U.N. report claims livestock contribute more greenhouse gas emissions than transportation (the infamous center of gas emissions). However, the way in which the report reached this conclusion is in no way fair or accountable to the real truth. When calculating greenhouse gas emissions from livestock worldwide, the U.N. included every possible variable, including the diesel used to drive the tractors that raise the corn being fed to cattle, the refrigeration in semi-trucks to keep the meat fresh and even the amount of rainforest removed by ranchers in Brazil. Transportation emission totals were based solely upon fossil fuels burned while driving. Nowhere included were the emissions of transporting fuel to filling stations, the emissions of building cars, the emissions from drilling for the fuel and so on. When looked at nationally, livestock production accounts for 3% of American greenhouse gas emissions while transportation accounts for 26%. Since issuing this report, the U.N. has admitted its error, but unfortunately have failed to pass the message onto the world population, much of which is still stuck in the delusion that cattle are the main cause of global warming.


Today, cattle production in Canada and the United States of America is increasingly becoming more bio-technically and mechanically advanced generating beef at a faster rate and cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions. When compared to 1977, each pound of American beef produced in modern production systems used 30% less land, 14% less water and 9% less fossil fuel energy. Overall, this translates into 18% less carbon emissions.


There are many other fallacies surrounding grain fed beef production. One in particular states that cattle being fed for slaughter eat a straight corn diet for months on end. This never occurs because, like any animal, cattle need a balanced diet to grow properly. Cattle diets contain hay, ethanol production by-products and essential minerals in addition to corn or other grains to perfectly balance the diet to their nutritional needs. Corn is not even the main energy source for cattle during the majority of their lives — two-thirds of the life of a steer that goes to slaughter is spent on pasture. By spending so much of their time foraging, cattle convert land into food that would never be productive farm ground. The human digestive system cannot process grass hay into energy like cattle can. The reason why cattle are fed high-grain diets in their final months is to match their diet to their nutritional requirements. Finishing cattle have a high energy requirement to add marbling (fat within the muscle) in order to give the steaks that juicy beef flavor customers demand. Grass-finished cattle take 30% longer to reach this end point and require 35% more water use and 30% more land use to do so. Considering all these factors, grain-fed cattle actually lead to less carbon emissions than grass-fed beef.


Another myth is that manure runoff has a catastrophic effect on the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency has a "zero-tolerance policy" with regard to runoff from any confined feeding operation. Any operation that does not comply will face severe fines. In a typical feedlot scenario, the action of the cattle's hooves on ground in pens creates a hard packed surface that is impenetrable to leaching (much like concrete) within six months of the first animal entering the feedlot, and all runoff from the feedlot pens is captured in manure lagoons. The manure is then applied to surrounding farmland as a natural source of fertilizer.

Beef production is an environmentally sound way to utilize the millions of acres of un-tillable land to provide a nutrient dense source of protein! So the next time you want to shrink your carbon footprint you might want to consider WALKING to that great steakhouse down the street, but you certainly don't need to forgo the beef and eat tofu!


Sources Cited:
http://www.explorebeef.org/default.aspx
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsID=20772&CR1=warning
Photograph Credits:
http://anglicansamizdat.wordpress.com/2009/06/
http://www.richlifeviafood.com/grass-fed-beef
http://www.beefcattle.com/