8 ms·

There may be good news on this front. Most of this water is being used to farm, specifically to grow feed crops for cattle. Anyone that can hearken back to ele

by 303uru 3y ago

There may be good news on this front. Most of this water is being used to farm, specifically to grow feed crops for cattle. Anyone that can hearken back to elementary school will remember that you lose a lot of energy in the food chain. It takes an absolute shitton of water to get to a steak, 1800 gallons for one 16oz cut (https://www.denverwater.org/tap/whats-beef-water https://www.denverwater.org/tap/whats-beef-water). But a demographic crises is coming. I was just at the stock show here in Denver and yes, ranchers are very much framing this as a crises. 12% of the population is eating half the beef, males 50-65 (https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/17/3795 https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/17/3795). This group is dying off quickly, quicker even than their peers, as increased beef consumption is a big predictor of early mortality. Younger populations are curbing beef consumption for chicken and it's far more water efficient.

maxglute 3y ago
That is a positive trend, but a few good marketing campaigns can increase eating beef again.
- alwillis 3y ago
  > That is a positive trend, but a few good marketing campaigns can increase eating beef again. It's not that simple. Millennials don't eat meat in the same quantities as their parents did and that's not going to change any time soon. Also, this generation is basically allergic to typical marketing campaigns. They also get how eating meat is detrimental to the environment, something they care a lot about. "Notable Millennial Food Trends: What Do They Like To Eat?" — https://dfaingredients.com/trends/millennial-food-trends/ https://dfaingredients.com/trends/millennial-food-trends/
  - jldugger 3y ago
    >According to other research sources, a total of 96 percent of millennials say they replace a meal with a snack once a week, and 58 percent say they snack 4-5 times a day! "I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip"
  - seoulmetro 3y ago
    >Also, this generation is basically allergic to typical marketing campaigns. Huh? The newest generation is the easiest that's ever been to advertise to. The medium has just changed...
    - 303uru 3y ago
      According to who? I'll admit I'm not a marketer, but I'm in meetings with and work alongside our chief sales officer a lot and the sentiment is always that millenials are very hard to sell to and gen-z is damn near impossible. Advertising turns them off.
      - seoulmetro 3y ago
        According to anyone who's been around these people and their marketing tools like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc.
aaron695 3y ago
[dead]
seoulmetro 3y ago
But where does the water go? It can't simply just vanish. It's a capacity problem, right? Also who cares who eats the beef? If you price in the water usage then these people eating all the beef will either keep eating and pay for their use or stop. Don't blame people for enjoying their life. It's akin to blaming people for using electricity when it is powered by coal...
- delfinom 3y ago
  The remark about who eats the beer is about the fact baby boomer generation is in full swing retirement wave. As they retire they switch to fixed income and as they age, they will consume less beef, because their bodies won't keep up. Basically if demographics hold, then the US will see a drop in beef consumption in 5 years and in part, more water conservation lol
  - seoulmetro 3y ago
    What does that have to do with water conservation? It's not water conservation it's water usage that's going down. If you fill your car tank and don't drive, you're not conserving it because it's still going to drain just as fast when you do drive. The car has already got the water in there. You won't take it back out.
- 303uru 3y ago
  >But where does the water go Not back into aquifers, that takes hundreds if not thousands of years. >Also who cares who eats the beef? If you price in the water usage Ya, that's kinda the point, we don't. If we removed the massive subsidies propping up ranching very few people would be consuming beef. >Don't blame people for enjoying their life I don't think I did, but as you brought it up. I'll absolutely shame people for having disproportionate impacts on conservation of our natural resources. Boomers especially are leaving the planet a worse place than they inherited and I for one hope younger generations can reverse that trend.
  - seoulmetro 3y ago
    Yeah so they're not back into aquifers, but so what. Where is it going if we aren't reusing it? Into the ocean? That is the only reasonable explanation. Unless it's physically leaving Earth which I doubt but also it could be true, who knows. So remove them. Stop crying about cows or the medium, they aren't related to it. It's purely a regulated movement problem. You are talking about who is eating the meat. It is totally irrelevant unless you are there to single them out and blame them. So you're blaming who, the people eating or the "boomers" regulating it so they can eat? Right now it sounds like the people eating. Consumers aren't the problem. If you give people things they enjoy they will consume them, that isn't new science, and so they should.
simonebrunozzi 3y ago
Scene 2: Enter Paleo.
dendrite9 3y ago
The NYTimes had an article recently that indicated the volume of chicken consumption has increased to a point where it is also a drain on aquifers. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/24/climate/groundwater-crisis-chicken-cheese.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/24/climate/groun...

by 303uru 3y ago

maxglute 3y ago

That is a positive trend, but a few good marketing campaigns can increase eating beef again.

alwillis 3y ago
> That is a positive trend, but a few good marketing campaigns can increase eating beef again. It's not that simple. Millennials don't eat meat in the same quantities as their parents did and that's not going to change any time soon. Also, this generation is basically allergic to typical marketing campaigns. They also get how eating meat is detrimental to the environment, something they care a lot about. "Notable Millennial Food Trends: What Do They Like To Eat?" — https://dfaingredients.com/trends/millennial-food-trends/ https://dfaingredients.com/trends/millennial-food-trends/
- jldugger 3y ago
  >According to other research sources, a total of 96 percent of millennials say they replace a meal with a snack once a week, and 58 percent say they snack 4-5 times a day! "I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip"
- seoulmetro 3y ago
  >Also, this generation is basically allergic to typical marketing campaigns. Huh? The newest generation is the easiest that's ever been to advertise to. The medium has just changed...
  - 303uru 3y ago
    According to who? I'll admit I'm not a marketer, but I'm in meetings with and work alongside our chief sales officer a lot and the sentiment is always that millenials are very hard to sell to and gen-z is damn near impossible. Advertising turns them off.
    - seoulmetro 3y ago
      According to anyone who's been around these people and their marketing tools like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc.

aaron695 3y ago

[dead]

seoulmetro 3y ago

But where does the water go? It can't simply just vanish. It's a capacity problem, right? Also who cares who eats the beef? If you price in the water usage then these people eating all the beef will either keep eating and pay for their use or stop. Don't blame people for enjoying their life. It's akin to blaming people for using electricity when it is powered by coal...

delfinom 3y ago
The remark about who eats the beer is about the fact baby boomer generation is in full swing retirement wave. As they retire they switch to fixed income and as they age, they will consume less beef, because their bodies won't keep up. Basically if demographics hold, then the US will see a drop in beef consumption in 5 years and in part, more water conservation lol
- seoulmetro 3y ago
  What does that have to do with water conservation? It's not water conservation it's water usage that's going down. If you fill your car tank and don't drive, you're not conserving it because it's still going to drain just as fast when you do drive. The car has already got the water in there. You won't take it back out.
303uru 3y ago
>But where does the water go Not back into aquifers, that takes hundreds if not thousands of years. >Also who cares who eats the beef? If you price in the water usage Ya, that's kinda the point, we don't. If we removed the massive subsidies propping up ranching very few people would be consuming beef. >Don't blame people for enjoying their life I don't think I did, but as you brought it up. I'll absolutely shame people for having disproportionate impacts on conservation of our natural resources. Boomers especially are leaving the planet a worse place than they inherited and I for one hope younger generations can reverse that trend.
- seoulmetro 3y ago
  Yeah so they're not back into aquifers, but so what. Where is it going if we aren't reusing it? Into the ocean? That is the only reasonable explanation. Unless it's physically leaving Earth which I doubt but also it could be true, who knows. So remove them. Stop crying about cows or the medium, they aren't related to it. It's purely a regulated movement problem. You are talking about who is eating the meat. It is totally irrelevant unless you are there to single them out and blame them. So you're blaming who, the people eating or the "boomers" regulating it so they can eat? Right now it sounds like the people eating. Consumers aren't the problem. If you give people things they enjoy they will consume them, that isn't new science, and so they should.

simonebrunozzi 3y ago

Scene 2: Enter Paleo.

dendrite9 3y ago

The NYTimes had an article recently that indicated the volume of chicken consumption has increased to a point where it is also a drain on aquifers. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/24/climate/groundwater-crisis-chicken-cheese.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/24/climate/groun...