On health and the environment (and why I wasn't on the Debate Team)

[gloworm59]

I am an awful, awful debater.  It's the same reason I wasn't a good history teacher.  Things really interest me, but the facts fly out of my head almost as fast as I can think about them.  I'll read an article and think, "That's a good point!" or "I really agree with that and am going to adopt that point of view!" but if someone actually questions

Comments

"green house gasses" from livestock

[anonymous]

Yes, livestock produces a lot of carbon dioxide... however, they can be considered "carbon neutral", as the carbon dioxide they produce is coming from the plants they were fed which absorbed that carbon from the atmosphere to begin with. The reason that fossil fuels are bad is because we're releasing carbon that has been removed from the atmosphere for millions of years, with no path for it to go back into the ground. So it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to think that cutting back on meat production is like switching to a car that gets greater fuel economy.

On the other hand, clearing forest in favor of agriculture (whether meat OR crop production) is seriously bad, as it leads to desertification, regional warming, drought, and a decrease in the conversion of carbon dioxide back to oxygen.

That being the case, the over-consumption of any resource, animal or plant, isn't a good plan. If you're eating too much, then of course, you can do your part for the world and for your own health by consuming less. On the other hand, if you're already consuming appropriate amounts, then reducing your intake could be just as unhealthy as consuming too much. Of course the only real solution when everyone is at an appropriate level of consumption is to reduce population.

-brian

Re: "green house gasses" from livestock

[gloworm59]

My impression is that the concern about greenhouse gasses "produced" by livestock is not so much from the livestock itself, but from the vehicles involved with maintaining the...farms? factories? and transporting the meat to where it's sold. At least, *my* concern would be more about that than the cows passing gas. :)

Re: "green house gasses" from livestock

[anonymous]

The article you quoted was using numbers that included the methane produced by the livestock (which is quite a bit more than the other greenhouse gases involved due to processing and transport, which are themselves substantial). But the best way to minimize that fossil-fuel powered overhead is to stick with locally produced, organic meat and produce. It tastes better anyway!

-brian