Global Warming?

[Short Game]

So, my being a vegetarian helps 54 other people get a unit of protein each time I don't eat meat?

 

[patrick_g]

"If all the grain currently fed to livestock in the United States were consumed directly by people, the number of people who could be fed would be nearly 800 million," David Pimentel, professor of ecology in Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, reported at the July 24-26 meeting of the Canadian Society of Animal Science in Montreal. Or, if those grains were exported, it would boost the U.S. trade balance by $80 billion a year, Pimentel estimated."

Rob

Or if we quit kidding ourselves about grain to ethanol for motor fuel we'd have enough grain for people and cattle.

 

[powerpace]

Grass fed beef on land not suitable for crops. That is a growing trend, that's what I raise. I could sell more but I only have ten acres. Most of the worlds population eats very little meat, compared to the U.S.

Populations of Countries that have a near starvation diet usually have a ineffective government. Poor land management, inadequate sanitary conditions, poor water distribution and uncontrolled population growth create a never ending emergency. The amount of cattle and sheep and goats may be a measure of wealth in areas of the world where land ownership has no practical advantage.

In parts of Africa people starve while they are surrounded by cattle. They also allow the cattle to die of starvation instead of eating them. India has a huge cattle count, the majority will never be eaten.

It may sound cruel but every time we send food to starving people it creates a ripple effect of new births and a new cycle of need. See it, understand it. Solve the long term problem, not the knee jerk plane flight of rice to countries that highjack the food supply to resell to the highest bidder.

The world needs less people not less cows.

 

[tallyho8]

The world needs less people not less cows.

This is where I agree with you 100%. Also, this would solve a majority of the world's environmental problems.

 

[Rob-D]

Grass fed beef on land not suitable for crops. That is a growing trend, that's what I raise. I could sell more but I only have ten acres. Most of the worlds population eats very little meat, compared to the U.S.

Populations of Countries that have a near starvation diet usually have a ineffective government. Poor land management, inadequate sanitary conditions, poor water distribution and uncontrolled population growth create a never ending emergency. The amount of cattle and sheep and goats may be a measure of wealth in areas of the world where land ownership has no practical advantage.

In parts of Africa people starve while they are surrounded by cattle. They also allow the cattle to die of starvation instead of eating them. India has a huge cattle count, the majority will never be eaten.

It may sound cruel but every time we send food to starving people it creates a ripple effect of new births and a new cycle of need. See it, understand it. Solve the long term problem, not the knee jerk plane flight of rice to countries that highjack the food supply to resell to the highest bidder.

The world needs less people not less cows.

First if you control food and water you basically control the world. My favorite monster Monsanto is attempting to control the world seed banks and now with their "terminator seed" the planet is in real trouble. In case some of you don't know, "terminator seeds" only last one growing season, you can't harvest crops and grow next years crops with the seed. Scary stuff!

Developing nations have a big problem, they have to grow cash crops to pay their debts. So it's either a despot selling cash crops at the expense of the people or a government paying its bills growing crops for export. Either way the people get the short end.
The other monster is massive mono crops. When you preclude diversity in crops you create all kinds of problems ( the potato famine in Ireland for example). The other mess from mono crops is insects. The less diversity you have the easier it is for detrimental insects to attack crops. Then you get into the cycle, more pesticides, stronger insects, more pesticides, etc.

Mono crops are the misguided child of agribusiness. I read somewhere that now there are a handful of companies controlling the world's food. If you go into a food store the majority of the food is corn based, the number of items without "high fructose corn syrup" is in the minority. ( no wonder we have 10 and 12 year old kids with stage 2 diabetes!) Most of the food in stores travels 1500 miles to get there. How do you run a country, how do you exist in this imbalance? Well, you don't. there's a saying, "know your farmer", we do. Now we're gearing up, even at our age, to grow most of our food ourselves.

If I was a young person I'd seriously start thinking about this government, this country, and my families future. Monsanto has threatened Vermont with a suit if they label GMO's. Half the people in the EPA are Monsanto exec's.(Do a search on Linda Fisher if you want an example) This is what happens when you sell a country to the highest bidder.We live in a scary place and the young people better get of their butts and do something about it if they want a country in ten years, as Franklin said, "we made a republic madam, if you can keep it!". You can't give corporations individual rights and expect democracy to survive. It won't.

Rob

 

[Rob-D]

Or if we quit kidding ourselves about grain to ethanol for motor fuel we'd have enough grain for people and cattle.

Another monster of corporate lobbies.

Let's not kid ourselves here. When Monsanto can sue Vermont, when they can patent life, the show is just about over.

 

[Rob-D]

Grass fed beef on land not suitable for crops. That is a growing trend, that's what I raise. I could sell more but I only have ten acres.

The only way you're making a living raising beef on ten acres is if you're bringing in grain. Either that or it's a 'hobby' farm.
Rob

 

[powerpace]

The only way you're making a living raising beaf on ten acres is if you're bringing in grain. Either that or it's a 'hobby' farm.
Rob

Never said I make a living at it. That is not the bread and butter. I raise cows horses and chickens and bees. I do have to buy some hay for the steers. No hormones no vitamins, wormer only. I buy some grain for the horses in winter. They don't get any hay other than grass. Contrary to what a trader will tell you a horse gets along just fine on grass hay. The chickens get some feed but they free roam.

 

[newbury]

Populations of Countries that have a near starvation diet usually have a ineffective government.

And bleeding heart people, both liberals and conservatives, in Europe and North America are determined to save them, feed them, and let them breed. And they have been very effective at it for the last 60 years.

If we hadn't basically treated them like pets (raising them, feeding them and letting them overbreed) they could easily feed themselves with modern agriculture.

The total number of people in Africa grew from 221 million in 1950 to 1 billion in 2009, this does not take into account those that emigrated to Europe and the US and there seems to be no net immigration statistics into Africa. The US grew from 151 million to about 300 million in the same time period (but about 40 million of the 300 million is immigrants). The world went from 2.5 billion to about 7 billion, and there is no immigration or emigration from Earth.

If the world had only doubled in population we wouldn't be so worried about climate change. And perhaps there would be less pollution.

 

[ham]

Good grief. I can not believe this topic still exists.