4 ms·

Yes. But most of the crop grown in that 'corn belt' is not for human consumption, it's for feeding livestock. We're destroying farmland to feed our need for mea

Yes. But most of the crop grown in that 'corn belt' is not for human consumption, it's for feeding livestock. We're destroying farmland to feed our need for meat. The rest of the crop in the Corn Belt--soybeans--is mostly exported abroad.

virtuallynathan 6y ago
I don't believe that's fully the case: https://www.sacredcow.info/blog/qz6pi6cvjowjhxsh4dqg1dogiznou6 https://www.sacredcow.info/blog/qz6pi6cvjowjhxsh4dqg1dogizno... Lot of corn and soybean oil produced, animals get whats left, generally.
- stakkur 6y ago
  I believe it is, as does the USDA: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/corn-and-other-feedgrains/feedgrains-sector-at-a-glance/ https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/corn-and-other-feedgra... Ethanol is a factor, but again--most production overwhelmingly ends up as livestock feed (as the USDA points out).
  - edgyquant 6y ago
    Where I’m from in the Midwest it’s nothing but corn fields, but the farmers themselves claim that most of it goes into horse feed and the rest is pop corn (which until I was an adult I didn’t realize was actually a type of really hard corn that is grown, not normal corn that is then dried.)
  - belorn 6y ago
    Are we talking about weight or by plant? If a plant is 60% by-product is 40% human edible product, and we give all the by-product to animals and all the edible parts to humans, then 60% of the crop weight goes to the animals, while 100% of the crop goes to both animals and human. As it is, there are four primary ways corn is used as feed. 1: Is to take the entire plant and chop it up and turn it to feed. 2: After harvesting the cobs for human consumption, the stalks, leaves, husks can be turned into feed. 3: The remaining stalks and left over cobs can be grazed on. 4: byproducts for ethanol or other refining processes can be turned into feed. The only one which is an actually problem here is the first one where the human edible part get turned into animal feed. As I understand it is also the most expensive feed. The linked source does not seem to define how large percent of the yields are used in this way.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
fukmbas 6y ago
Mm mm love my steak
orlovs 6y ago
Or ethanol. Same happens in part of Europe where I live. But in this case there is subsides rapseed being grown for additions to fosil fuel. Not forgeting to mention, that its being fertilized with petrochemical based fertilizers

virtuallynathan 6y ago

I don't believe that's fully the case: https://www.sacredcow.info/blog/qz6pi6cvjowjhxsh4dqg1dogiznou6 https://www.sacredcow.info/blog/qz6pi6cvjowjhxsh4dqg1dogizno... Lot of corn and soybean oil produced, animals get whats left, generally.

stakkur 6y ago
I believe it is, as does the USDA: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/corn-and-other-feedgrains/feedgrains-sector-at-a-glance/ https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/corn-and-other-feedgra... Ethanol is a factor, but again--most production overwhelmingly ends up as livestock feed (as the USDA points out).
- edgyquant 6y ago
  Where I’m from in the Midwest it’s nothing but corn fields, but the farmers themselves claim that most of it goes into horse feed and the rest is pop corn (which until I was an adult I didn’t realize was actually a type of really hard corn that is grown, not normal corn that is then dried.)
- belorn 6y ago
  Are we talking about weight or by plant? If a plant is 60% by-product is 40% human edible product, and we give all the by-product to animals and all the edible parts to humans, then 60% of the crop weight goes to the animals, while 100% of the crop goes to both animals and human. As it is, there are four primary ways corn is used as feed. 1: Is to take the entire plant and chop it up and turn it to feed. 2: After harvesting the cobs for human consumption, the stalks, leaves, husks can be turned into feed. 3: The remaining stalks and left over cobs can be grazed on. 4: byproducts for ethanol or other refining processes can be turned into feed. The only one which is an actually problem here is the first one where the human edible part get turned into animal feed. As I understand it is also the most expensive feed. The linked source does not seem to define how large percent of the yields are used in this way.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

fukmbas 6y ago

Mm mm love my steak

orlovs 6y ago

Or ethanol. Same happens in part of Europe where I live. But in this case there is subsides rapseed being grown for additions to fosil fuel. Not forgeting to mention, that its being fertilized with petrochemical based fertilizers