Unless you are a small hobby farm, you’re not putting your cows out on pasture alone to raise them for meat. Most grasses are deficient in one or more vital nutrients that the cows need to grow. Most cows today are fed TMR (Total Mixed Rations). These are diets carefully mixed with different grasses, grains, hays, and mineral supplements. There are different metabolic diseases that cows can get when eating diets deficient in different nutrients. Cows that are sick don’t want to eat, and cows that don’t eat don’t grow. To a farmer, that’s like burning money.
Comment on Why is the consumption of Meat considered bad
TwoFace211@feddit.ch 10 months ago[deleted]
Cynicivity@lemmy.world 10 months ago
jeffw@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Most deforestation today is to grow animal feed.
TwoFace211@feddit.ch 10 months ago
[deleted]jeffw@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Just globally. Not sure about specific countries. Virtually all of the Amazon deforestation, for example
tetraodon@feddit.it 10 months ago
You forget that most land was forested (even in Europe) before humans decided that grass was more useful than trees.
Wilzax@lemmy.world 10 months ago
That field could be used to grow a different crop than grass, which would use less water per calorie of human food produced
ValiantDust@feddit.de 10 months ago
Also, hardly any cows just eat grass these days. That’s not how you get a lot of meat as fast and as cheap as possible. Also, since cows need a lot of grass, I a lot less area would remain for other crops even if they did (since grass needs way more area for the same amount of calories than stuff like soybeans). So it’s actually a good thing, they aren’t just eating grass.
TwoFace211@feddit.ch 10 months ago
rog@lemmy.one 10 months ago
Funnily enough, having cattle on that land only further fucks it up by causing erosion that can take decades to resopve even after the cattle is removed.
ValiantDust@feddit.de 10 months ago
If that is the case, then they are more the exception than the rule. (Do you by chance have any source on that? Because I’m pretty sure here in Germany that’s not the case) Also, at least Switzerland produces less beef than it consumes, so that’s not exactly sustainable. I don’t know about the other two.
dQw4w9WgXcQ@lemm.ee 10 months ago
There are of couse exceptions and areas where cattle can graze all year, and the need to deforest areas isn’t as large as other places. However, for the majority of beef production, there are less enviornmentally friendly cattle food implemented. So maybe the solution should be that only the areas that can produce beef sustainably should be allowed to consume it? I would assume that that would be an unpopular policy, so I find it to be a much better solution to reduce the beef consumption even in the areas with sustainable producion and rather let those areas export the excess production.
TwoFace211@feddit.ch 10 months ago
thethirdobject@lemmy.world 10 months ago
as a Swiss, it is an issue. our glaciers are metling more and more every year and we rely on hydropower a lot, we need all the rain and water we can get, even if it seems like there is a lot.
commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 months ago
cows east grass and a great deal of the water they consume is in grass.
Wooki@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Jesus your downvotes. Seems facts hurt some real delicate flowers…
tetraodon@feddit.it 10 months ago
It’s a false choice. Land not used for grazing could be rewilded, which provides benefits in both biodiversity and carbon fixing.
Wooki@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Who waters the grass to feed cows? You grow them in a suitable region!