Two Pounds of Beef Produce the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Three-Hour Drive

I am an alternet kind of guy (who likes an occasional steak or burger), but would have to put the claims of this into the bogus category. Someone would have to pay for all of that energy and carbon . . . someway, somehow, and those costs would have to be passed along to the consumer. Maybe some Kobe beef could be expensive enough to cover those kinds of production, but not the stuff you and I eat.

My point is this, our world is screwed up and many of our habits are certainly bad for the planet, but when someone conjures up something so outlandish as this, it puts us on par with FOX news for incredibility, and that damages other progressive arguments that need to be heard, and believed, by people whose opinions we need to influence with truths.

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The paper it was based on was published a few weeks earlier. The figure would be much higher if the study had included the "carbon cost" of transportation and the day to day operations of the farm. Also, American beef production is different from Japanese, as we have more grazing land for the cows to roam on, though I don't know how this would change the figure.
I hope the author also LOVES colon cancer.

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Heres the thing about being a true Progressive- In some way shape or form, within legal boundries, everyone participates in some form of behavior others would consider Risky and/or objectionable.
Vegans have become the Self righteous Gestpo of the Liberals. For some adherence to Veganism is the Litmus test to be accepted as a 'True Progressive'- Bull shit.
Progressive pride themselves in the fact that although we may not participate in some behaviors, we do not demand other do not as well.
Seems the Stomach has become yet another Organ caught in the crossfire of personal choice debates.
Ok so the Far Right wants control over my Uterus. Some even want control over my ovaries. Still others want to unhindered freedoms for 'Johnny Appleseeds'.
But those who claim to be Liberals want to control my GI tract, circulatory and Respiratory systems.
I am a huge Animal Advocate- People are animals too. In this way these "Lefties" are denying science. We Are biologically designed to be Omnivores. How can you believe we Evoled from 'Apes',yet claim we are' naturally' vegans?? You not only deny the reality of your current biology, but our foundation. We are not descendants of Horses!!
Most meat eaters do not take some morbid glee out of having to sacrific another animal for their caloric intact, Nor do they view it as proof of Dominance. They eat it because they have a desire for it- Not just as a flavor, but some biological craving. Who hasn't had an irresistable craving- Chocolate??
Do I think a lot of meat producing animals are slaughtered needlessly- ending up in the garbage after the expriation date? Yes.
Do I think that Big Ag is horrible at Animal Husbandry? Absolutely!
But I am not about to begin telling other people what they can ingest, or do with their bodies, under the guise of Morality.

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the pic of the porterhouse on the home page.
Mmmmmmm, grilled on the coals, medium rare.
YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A green veggie in medium grain rice as a side dish and a glass of milk.
I AM an omnivore.

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Thanks for a moderate and realistic post.

True, it's not absolutely clear but why would some comments assume that all the transporation costs aren't a part of this equation?

If it weren't for the petroleum based fertilizer for growing unnatural and unsuitable feeds - corn and soy products - petro fuels consumed in cultivating those feeds and pumping the irrigation water, the transportation to separate the cows and calves for weaning, transporting the steers to feedlots, transporting the feed to the feedlots, then the 'finished' steers to market, the meat through the butcher-to-market cycle and your drive to the grocery, this wouldn't be a story! Joshua would nave had nothing to write about!

Take note- this isn't one more plea for a vegan world - this is a plea for awareness and moderation.

This is a plea for less accountants and middle-men in the business of growing our food and more organic, produce farmers near our urban centers. This is a plea for less meat animals riding around in less big trucks from point to point and more cowboys, 'riding out with the chuck wagon' on open range in the American west. For less antibiotics and growth hormones and better utilization of grasslands, swampy and mountainous areas and soils that are unsuited for cultivation. For less lost, topsoil and healthier consumers. For less fat and more muscle on critter and consumer alike.

We should not only be aware of the cost our lives have for the planet and for other life but we could be 'normal' omnivores and have a much smaller footprint. If we ate only naturally raised, grass fed meats and other animal products for that matter, they would be somewhat more moderate in price. True, they would be more expensive than 'factory farmed' so we would eat less and enjoy it more. We would all be both healthier and happier for it!

In fact, we should all, eat less of everything and insist upon simpler, more natural farming methods and we should all buy locally or as close to home as made sense for our individual situations. Don't cry, 'I can't!', instead plan how you can! Trust me, making such a plan is much simpler than growing your own on a window ledge!

We might also be mindful of more humane production methods and conditions and more sensitive and humane slaughter procedures.

The foundation for that should be the very awareness of which Joshua spoeaks.

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Just once, I'd like to see data about meat that is raised humanely and ecologically. For example, Joel Salatin's polyface farm builds topsoil and sequesters carbon faster than a rainforest. His whole operation is net positive for greenhouse gases and energy use.

Furthermore, if we let the acreage of the midwest plains that are currently used to grow corn and soy for livestock go back to grasslands for grazing, the U.S. (that's right, the whole country) would become a net positive sink for carbon! GMO Corn and soy are not natural or healthy diets for animals or humans!

Industrial monocrop agriculture is the single greatest contributor to carbon release and climate change, not agroecologically managed grazing operations. But no one wants to talk about that.

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This reminds me of the time when my brother-in-law who is a vegan pointed to my leather belt and said,"How can you justify wearing something that represents the horrible killing of an animal."
I pointed to his canvas and rubber sneakers and replied, "How can you justify the destruction of entire eco-systems and the total extermination of every species that once lived where the land was cleared to grow cotton and rubber trees to make your animal product-free shoes."
My point is this. While it definitely adds to the pollution problem to grow and process meat, clearing land to grow enough vegetation to feed a growing human population is every bit as destructive.
If you really want to make a difference QUIT BREEDING and eat your dead!
Here's a fact: It takes 400% more acreage to grow 100 pounds of human than it does to grow 100 pounds of cattle. This is due to our incredibly inefficient gastro-intestinal tract as opposed to that of herbivorous ruminants such as cows.

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Some of the people who monitor the effects of greenhouse gases, global warming, our carbon footprint, and the use of fossil fuels, say that we are toast already. They say that with the amount of global warming that has and will take place before we become "carbon neutral" (if that is at all possible), has already brought us beyond the tipping point of no return. So, all this talk about conservation, and "going green" is a moot point. Now, that is real food for thought.

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The costs of cattle production in the arid American West--which include reclamation projects that provide irrigation water for agricultural production, that in turn is used to feed cattle and produce wealth for cattlemen, much of which is subsidized by taxpayer money and whose long-term costs include massive pollution and disease from the feeder-lot system, desertification of grass lands, and the cost of 85% of all water use in the west--it's not hard to accept the validity of this study.

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