Is eating less beef the answer to climate change?

If you listen to the news or read the latest articles on climate change, you probably have come across quite a bit of information blaming the food industry – specifically beef and dairy (funny how I don’t hear much mention of the ‘beverages, sweets, and other’ – aka processed food – that are a big piece of the pie…).

Usually in that same article you will also find the logical assumption that we all need to eat less beef and dairy to help the environment.

None of this is wrong, but what’s missing here is the big picture. And it’s really quite simple. We need to understand and appreciate the difference between an industrial agriculture setting and a true farm ecosystem.

The beef and dairy cows these studies are talking about are conventionally raised cows. Cows that are not really living on farms – they are living in an industrial setting called a CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation). Maybe you’ve seen one, I know we have quite a few in Colorado and they are just horrible to see (and smell!). Here, the cows are crowded together in a small, muddy area while a big pile of manure sits nearby.

These cows are fed a diet of corn, soy, even candy – whatever the “ranchers” find that is cheap and will fatten up the cows as quickly as possible.

The thing is, cows are not meant to eat these foods – cows are grazers and they are meant to eat grasses, not grains and candy.

Also? Manure is not meant to sit in a pile and become pseudo-industrial waste, we all know what a great job it does as a fertilizer!

Think about this – 33% of farmland today is used to feed livestock (source: fao.org). Feed crops are harvested on separate land and then shipped to feed lots to fatten up the cows. How in the heck does this make any sense?

Personally, I value simplicity, and I think mother nature does too. Doesn’t it make simple sense to use the land where the cows live to provide natural grazing for them? In this case, the cows are healthy, and they are also helping create healthy soil by pooping all over it!

This is what I want to see instead of acres and acres of mono-cropped, GMO, chemical-sprayed crops that are polluting our oceans, killing the soil (which is one of our greatest carbon sinks), and contributing to air pollution as they get shipped to other parts of the country.

So, next time you hear something about how beef is contributing to climate change or you see a commercial for the next best meat substitute, please remember that this is not the best and only solution. Healthy crops and healthy animals grow together. Those plant-based meats? They likely come from mono-cropped industrial farms that our devastating our lands. Let’s support ecosystems and we will support not only our own health, but also the health of the planet!