Morag raised this vexed issue recently. Could the world be better without cows? Some time last year further research came out which demonstrated that the ecological footprint of a cow was huge. And bad. I found the snippet from the New Scientist and went googling at the time but it appeared then that research was in pretty early stages. So I could not find out to what extent the conditions of living of a cow made a difference or how sheep compared on the fart impact scale. Or chooks or goats or pigs... Given how very different the conditions of a cow raised on grain, living in a concrete "paddock" in a US feedlot are to a cow raised entirely on grass in New Zealand, pretty significant questions remain in my opinion.
Beyond the basics of how stock are raised in different countries, I'd also like the research to go further and help us to understand whether some breeds are more efficient producers of meat than others when their fart impacts are compared to their meat production rates. I would very much like to understand how the impacts in terms of farts (colloquialism for methane emissions unless I have misunderstood things badly) compare between the different types of meat commonly available to me. For example, beef vs lamb vs pork.
Morag raised the issue of milk and the byproducts of the dairy industry in terms of unwanted calves. A proportion of each season's new female calves will be kept by the farmer in New Zealand as new milking cow stock, to replace old cows who will be phased out of production in the coming year (yes, that will translate to being killed). But almost all male calves in New Zealand and some female calves will be sent to 'the works' (an abbatoir) within two days of being born. My Dad worked in such an abbatoir for almost all of my childhood and I rang him yesterday with a few questions.
Bobby calves in New Zealand have not had time to acquire much meat on their bones. Dad explained that unless practices have changed (he left the works about five years ago), NZ bobby calf meat goes to the US and is turned into luncheon sausage.
I have never seen veal for sale in NZ but I know it is available in the UK and Europe and is a contentious practice. This involves calves being reared especially for their tender meat. Animal welfare activists have fought successfully to ban crate-reared veal in Britain. I don't know a lot beyond that.
I am thinking that the small or self-sufficient holding in the past probably carried a cow and a bull and a calf. Cow for milk and cheese and bull for ploughing paddocks for growing food in and a calf to initially keep the milk going but at some stage either to provide meat or to replace the ageing cow or bull. Or to provide a dowry I suppose. In terms of land usage and amount of meat in the diet, it is a far cry from today's meat-rich eating practices in the western world.
Where happiness is lurking
3 days ago
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met the beautiful reddish brown cow today that provides our family with half our weeks milk. She provides her owner with a family of 6 and two woofers also. The trees on the property surley nuterlize all the farting. Huge pines, manukas, tourterd willows and ancient apples. My Dad ( an old red neck farmer) tells me the planet couldn't provide enough food if we all were vegetarian. It's too big an issue for me, I just have to look at my impact and effect to keep my own concience clear.
I expect that your local reddish brown cow complements its enivronement beautifully Gill. The fact that the milk stays very local rather than being transported round the country must be ecologically, positively significant.
I don't doubt that there are issues with overeating of meat and perhaps also dairy products in environmental terms. I just hope that given the likelihood that people (myself included) will keep eating meat, research could help us make lower impact eating choices.
I betcha the most useful thing we could do is eat local meat and milk instead of stuff which has been transported round the country, often several tiems before it gets into anyone's fridge.
Wonder if our Dads have met. I'm guessing it is likely.
I like Colin Tudge's ideas that he presents in 'Feeding People is Easy' - arguing that the most efficient way of all to grow food (maximising the amount of food you can sustainably get from a piece of land) is with a mix of plants and animals - like a real ecosystem ... not just plants alone.
I'd be interested to know how pastured cows compare with other types of cattle farming too.
I know AgResearch takes NZ's agricultural emissions very seriously. (yeah - that coloquialism! If I remember rightly the emissions calculations take into account burps, wees and all sorts of excretions.:o)
I don't think any of it is easy. It reminds me of a thriller I once read which started off with the premise that the incoming Pope sold of loads of Catholic riches to alleviate world poverty, and the mess that this apparently beneficial action led to.
What is true is that today's world is a very different place from the world our grandparents lived in, and it is not a simple matter to say "I won't..." I think there is so much interesting research that could be done which could be very useful.
I mean, meat quality vs fart production?! Excellent idea, but who would think of it other than some nutty woman in NZ?! ;)
There's another Colin Tudge book too - can't remember the name, but I was MOST impressed with his research, application and argument.
Would be worth looking out for.
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