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Land used for grazing livestock is often no good for growing crops. > For example, US NRCS statistics indicate that about 59 percent of US non-federal pasture
by tomjakubowski 8y ago
Land used for grazing livestock is often no good for growing crops.
> For example, US NRCS statistics indicate that about 59 percent of US non-federal pasture and unforested rangeland is unsuitable for cultivation, yet such land has value for grazing of livestock.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arable_land#Non-arable_land https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arable_land#Non-arable_land
- maccam94 8y agoOh yeah, I"m not suggesting that the pasture could be converted to cropland. I think we just aren't pricing in a bunch of externalities for beef production that would otherwise raise the price and shift consumption to poultry. The fees to access that land are very low ($1.70/cow/month)[1]. Maybe those lands would have more ecological value if they weren't being grazed, so add a charge for the environmental burden. A tax on bovine methane emissions is also necessary. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grazing_fee#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grazing_fee#United_States
- maccam94 8y agoAlso I totally forgot about water usage as well. Most of the time it is much cheaper to use water than it should be, and cattle consume huge amounts of it.