4 ms·
Many of these beyond a surface-level inspection break down upon a closer inspection Inefficient land and resource use Land degradation Loss of biodiversity
by JasserInicide 3y ago
Many of these beyond a surface-level inspection break down upon a closer inspection
Inefficient land and resource use
Land degradation
Loss of biodiversity
Soil erosion
In the US, most of the land used for grazing is already insufficient for farming most crops. You take cows and such off of them, you're left with near-useless land.
Chemical runoff from pesticides and fertilizers
Not exclusive to livestock and their feed, feels weird to attribute it to just them.
Widely-available meat in the Western world is a Pandora's Box; it's just not going away. It's better to find ways to make it more efficient than to go all pissed-off-vegan and want to ban meat everywhere in favor of ultra-processed replacement monstrosities. You'll win more people to your side too.
Furthermore, attacking the end-consumer does absolutely nothing. It's like banning plastic bags/straws, It just makes liberal lawmakers feel good about themselves. You want to really change our diets? Go after the billions in subsidies handed out to farmers for growing corn/soybeans/dairy and such in order to stay competitive against cheaper products overseas. Good luck.
- throwaway173738 3y agoI think the disconnect here is that you presuppose that all land must be put to some productive use.
- EngManagerIsMe 3y agoOr that farming is the only productive use.
- skrbjc 3y agoMuch of that "marginal land" originally had animals grazing on it anyway. We have barely more cows in this country now than buffalo at their peak. "Re-wilding" land would just mean we have animals grazing at that we don't eat.
- myshpa 3y agoBefore the arrival of European settlers in North America, it is estimated that there were approximately 30 to 60 million bison (also known as buffalo) roaming the continent. We are currently consuming upto three times as many cows each year as there were wild buffalos. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-current-mass-extinction-is-already-far-more-dire-than-we-realized https://www.sciencealert.com/the-current-mass-extinction-is-... - Cows (cattle): In 2021, the United States had approximately 94.4 million head of cattle, including those raised for beef and dairy production. - Beef: In 2021, the United States imported approximately 3.1 billion pounds of beef and veal, that's apx. 6 mil. cows. - Pigs (hogs): In 2020, the United States produced around 129 million hogs. - Pork: In 2021, the United States imported approximately 1.0 billion pounds of pork. - Chickens (broilers): In 2020, the United States produced about 9.1 billion broiler chickens for meat. - Poultry: In 2021, the United States imported around 913 million pounds of poultry meat, including broiler meat and turkey meat. - Turkeys: In 2020, the United States produced approximately 229 million turkeys. Fish, shellfish, ducks, sheep, goats, or dairy products not included. Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
- Natsu 3y ago> Go after the billions in subsidies handed out to farmers for growing corn/soybeans/dairy and such in order to stay competitive against cheaper products overseas. Good luck. We deliberately overproduce food so that when, say, corrupt regimes attack one of the world's largest wheat growers, we don't end up starving. It's a necessary adaptation for a country that has to worry about food security in the event of wars, even if it has 2nd order effects that are not so good.
- finikytou 3y ago[flagged]
- stametseater 3y agoExactly, when it comes to essential matters like food, stability is much more important than efficiency. I don't want the food supply chain optimized for efficiency, nobody should. Optimize it for reliable output.
- darkerside 3y agoWe've seen what optimizing for efficiency can do to the rest of our supply chain in recent years