My Latest ‘Beef’

Following my series of observations relating to our failure to act responsibly when it comes to climate change mitigation measures, I ask, is it my imagination, or has there recently been a dramatic increase in cattle numbers on large lot residential properties?

I’m talking mostly about low fertility rural residential ‘bush blocks’ that are ill-suited for grazing, meaning that with the slightest hint of a drought, these animals require feeding.

We know that globally agriculture is responsible for 11% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, and that beef production is a large component. In fact, it’s the third largest emitter behind fossil fuel to generate electricity and heat (31%), and transportation (15%).

With the internet at our fingertips, we also know that 36% of the world’s crop calories are fed to livestock and 9% turned into biofuels and industrial products. Put into humanitarian terms, the U.S. could feed 800 million people with the grain that livestock eat, around 26 million tons annually. Livestock in the US also consume about 15 million tons of hay and other forage crops.

The Amazon jungles are being cleared for cattle grazing, or growing soybeans to feed livestock – all of this while hundreds of millions around the world suffer malnutrition or starvation.

Suggest that we should cut back or avoid eating meat, and we are immediately labelled, even ridiculed, by many in the community as ‘bleeding heart’ animal liberationists. This analysis comes despite science proving that, nutritionally, red meat in particular, is not that good for us.

From another ecological perspective, cattle grazing is a recognised key threatening process as they trample, browse, and otherwise destroy many native species. They compact soils, spread weeds, and cause serious erosion and pollution if allowed access to gullies and waterways.

So, I’m wondering what is behind this proliferation of livestock, cattle in particular, on residential land, and urge landowners to think seriously before following this fad.

I, for one, have dramatically cut my consumption of red meat and if everyone did likewise, the health and environmental benefits could be endless.

John Edwards