4 ms·
Exactly. I grew up on cattle ranches in Montana and Wyoming. The short growing season, rocky soil, and dry conditions would make any attempt at farming laugha
by pdx 11y ago
Exactly. I grew up on cattle ranches in Montana and Wyoming. The short growing season, rocky soil, and dry conditions would make any attempt at farming laughable, but the cattle did just fine. Driving them into the high mountains for summer grazing allowed the mountain grass to also be converted to beef. None of that land was appropriate to farming, which means that any beef grown there is extra food for the planet.
What always amazes me about capitalism is how it often manages to allocate resources efficiently. Nobody is raising large cattle herds down in farm country. Land that can be farmed is generally farmed, because that provides the best return. Land that can't be farmed, is ranched. This idea that you have to give up farming to have meat doesn't take this into account.
- beat 11y agoThis doesn't mean corn-fed meat isn't wasteful, of course. But it does mean that meat itself isn't the cause of hunger elsewhere.
- Lawtonfogle 11y agoIf it is wasteful, I wonder how much is caused by corn subsidies.
- astazangasta 11y agoYes, it does. You just don't realize that we've used up all available pasture land.
- pdx 11y agoNonsense. There is pasture land that is not being used to capacity that would be used if beef prices increased. Go take a drive through rural America and Canada. You and Malthus like to extrapolate, but extrapolation is rarely a smart idea, unless you're trying to scare people. Just like there will never be a day when we go from having oil to not having oil, the same will occur with meat. As the demand for a commodity outpaces supply, the price will rise. Some people will find ways to use less of the commodity, some people will find ways to replace the commodity, and some people will find ways to increase the supply of the commodity, now that the higher price allows more expensive methods to be profitably used.