Interesting topic, I eat meat at least one meal a day. Pork, beef, lamb, fish and some poultry. I try to stay away from any chicken I haven't seen raised. 'Produced' Chickens go from egg to frying pan in 30 days, that's just unnatural. I buy everything I can locally, more for the freshness and knowing where it came from than anything else.
I try to avoid the hype surrounding the 'living greener' movement flourishing today. Yes I do what I can to live in harmony with the planet, but I don't consume goods based on marketing. It may interest some to know that the term 'free range' has no real significant meaning. The FDA defines 'free range' as "having
access to the outdoors" and that's ONLY for Chickens. There's no definition or regulation to certify anything else as 'free range'. So while most of use had visions of happy chickens, pigs, cows and goats frolicking in open fields with the sun on the their backs and fresh air to breath. It simply isn't true. It's a marketing strategy to sell the same product we've consumed for years at a higher price. There are producers that do allow their animals to range freely, but it's unlikely these will be found on grocery store shelves. Meat markets, delis and specialty stores, yes, but not the super market. The easiest way to find them is the classifieds in your local paper.
I can only suggest, it may benefit us all to look a little deeper into an issue to find an answer.
Cattle and methane were being talked about long before Gore and his merry band of idiots coined the phrase 'Global Warming'. There has been a power plant in Fort Morgan, Co. running on nothing but cow pie since the late '70s, if memory serves. That, is a good use of resources.
To me the answers lie in personal responsibility. Cattle production is causing some serious problems, but it's not the cows fault, it's ours. South America is being deforested to open lands for cattle grazing, grass lands are being destroyed due to over grazing, streams and ground water are being polluted with nitrates, that create algae blooms and consume all the oxygen in the water killing everything else. That is our fault, the consumer and the producer. But personal responsibility would suggest that maybe the producer should just say 'no' to his greed. After all, I don't think the cows or the consumers are going to hold a gun to his head and force him to raise more cattle. That's his greed doing that. There are options, we just need to implement them. Vegans, don't think you're off the hook. The second largest producer of Nitrates is agriculture.
Everything we do on this planet effects the balance. The answer is to keep the balance close. Eat a cow, plant a tree. Rotate crop lands, use nature instead of chemicals, buy local, live in harmony. The equation really isn't that complex until we add greed.
Personally, if steak was $30/lb, I'd eat less steak and probably be healthier. If veggies were $30/lb, I'd plant a bigger garden. I believe, as a society, we've just become too lazy (or should I say convenienced) and Dependant upon others for our own welfare causing the imbalance we now seek to correct. Being more self sufficient can only help.
While it was not my intent to climb up on the soap box and start preaching, it appears I've done just that.
I appreciate your tolerance. It strikes a deep nerve when I see one group trying to impose their lifestyle choices on others. The media and mass marketing have struck again!
So, all I have left to say is: SAVE A TREE, EAT A BEAVER!
Brock
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