Don Matesz wrote an excellent post on his Primal Wisdom blog about an organization that has managed to turn desert land in Zimbabwe back into lush grasslands. How? By returning masses of livestock to the ecosystem.
Read the post if you get a chance, and look at the before-and-after pictures. This is exactly what Lierre Keith pointed out in her wonderful book The Vegetarian Myth: livestock aren’t ruining the earth. Mono-crop farming is ruining the earth. Livestock and grasslands need each other.
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Thanks for the post on cattle saving the land.. God put them here for a reason..Glad to see you are really showing people how to really eat and the cholestrol is not the main culprit, but inflammation of the artery is.. What’s the deal on fish oil.. what is really good for.. have not seen alot of research on that.
The benefit of fish oil is Omega 3 fatty acids, which help to reduce inflammation. We buy cod liver oil and keep it in the refrigerator — you don’t want your fish oil going rancid, which defeats the purpose.
Thanks for the post on cattle saving the land.. God put them here for a reason..Glad to see you are really showing people how to really eat and the cholestrol is not the main culprit, but inflammation of the artery is.. What’s the deal on fish oil.. what is really good for.. have not seen alot of research on that.
The benefit of fish oil is Omega 3 fatty acids, which help to reduce inflammation. We buy cod liver oil and keep it in the refrigerator — you don’t want your fish oil going rancid, which defeats the purpose.
Animals don’t have to be kind and gentle like Disney charactors or cuddly pets to deserve respect. Some cultures eat dogs yet in America we think thats awful because they gratify us, and think they’re cute. Meat eater or vegetarian…cows should graze…not be on a feed lot. On this site I expect to be mocked for saying this, but I beleive all life is sacred…that doesn’t nessecarily rule out meat eating or even raising animals for meat…but they should be able to live dignified lives and not lead miserable lives just for profit and greed. Besides…animals raised in healthy conditions will make a better product for those who do consume them.
Why would anyone mock the idea that life is sacred?
Animals don’t have to be kind and gentle like Disney charactors or cuddly pets to deserve respect. Some cultures eat dogs yet in America we think thats awful because they gratify us, and think they’re cute. Meat eater or vegetarian…cows should graze…not be on a feed lot. On this site I expect to be mocked for saying this, but I beleive all life is sacred…that doesn’t nessecarily rule out meat eating or even raising animals for meat…but they should be able to live dignified lives and not lead miserable lives just for profit and greed. Besides…animals raised in healthy conditions will make a better product for those who do consume them.
Why would anyone mock the idea that life is sacred?
I just finished reading a book about the Dust Bowl called “The Worst Hard Time,” and was fascinated to learn all about how that horrible environmental disaster occurred – not so much from over-farming, but actually caused by first getting rid of all the buffalo that used to live and graze there, then from getting rid of all the cattle that used to live and graze there.
Correct, and then tearing up the soil with plows.
I just finished reading a book about the Dust Bowl called “The Worst Hard Time,” and was fascinated to learn all about how that horrible environmental disaster occurred – not so much from over-farming, but actually caused by first getting rid of all the buffalo that used to live and graze there, then from getting rid of all the cattle that used to live and graze there.
Correct, and then tearing up the soil with plows.
The real problem is factory farming which requires large amounts of monoculture crops. Meat takes more resources and energy to produce than vegetable sources of food. Every level you go up the food chain you lose energy. It’s just a fact. If you want an abundance of cheap meat you’re going to have to devote a hell of a lot of land to growing feed crops. Switching back to grass/pasture feed animals is good but you aren’t going to be eating steak and hamburger everyday and it’s going to cost exponentially more. As China and India become more affluent and start eating more meat it’s going to put a huge strain on food markets and prices. I’m holding out for in vitro meat.
Grain-fed meats are artificially cheap because of grain subsidies. We pay the true cost for that meat and the grain foods themselves through taxes. (Economists in this case would draw a distinction between price and cost. The price is low. The cost is higher.) I don’t believe the price of grass-fed meat would rise exponentially, because I can order grass-fed meats already at a very reasonable price if I buy a cow share.
Lierre Keith provided a good comparison of the real costs, energy requirements, water requirements, etc. of crop foods versus grass-fed livestock in “The Vegetarian Myth.”
The real problem is factory farming which requires large amounts of monoculture crops. Meat takes more resources and energy to produce than vegetable sources of food. Every level you go up the food chain you lose energy. It’s just a fact. If you want an abundance of cheap meat you’re going to have to devote a hell of a lot of land to growing feed crops. Switching back to grass/pasture feed animals is good but you aren’t going to be eating steak and hamburger everyday and it’s going to cost exponentially more. As China and India become more affluent and start eating more meat it’s going to put a huge strain on food markets and prices. I’m holding out for in vitro meat.
Grain-fed meats are artificially cheap because of grain subsidies. We pay the true cost for that meat and the grain foods themselves through taxes. (Economists in this case would draw a distinction between price and cost. The price is low. The cost is higher.) I don’t believe the price of grass-fed meat would rise exponentially, because I can order grass-fed meats already at a very reasonable price if I buy a cow share.
Lierre Keith provided a good comparison of the real costs, energy requirements, water requirements, etc. of crop foods versus grass-fed livestock in “The Vegetarian Myth.”