The meat industry gets a lot of heat for their production techniques, and they should, but to say that we should eat veggies instead because of environmental impact is a very dangerous assumption.
First of all, yes, industrial livestock production is very bad, for all kinds of reasons, but local, grass-fed animal production is GOOD for the environment. This has been proven many times over. Graing animals are a part of the ecosystem and provide important services to the environment. To deny their place is the food web or the environment is a mistake. So, support your local livestock producer and buy HIS meat, instead of the industrial meat.
Industrial farming is just as bad or worse for the environment than industrial meat production. Farming in the US uses more fossil fuels than transportation and soybean production in Brazil is the leading cause of the destruction of the Amazon rain forests. Industrial farming causes groundwater pollution, severe health issues in humans, desertification and is a major use of water and fossil fuels.
Humans are the leading producer of methane, not livestock, like some folks say. 6 billion methane farts daily adds up.
We can produce food in better ways, but to do so, we need to be open minded and informed. We can’t ignore that there are better ways to do just about anything. Industrial processes are rarely good for the environment.
So, let’s get some better info than just “don’t eat meat”. What we should be saying is “Eat locally produced meat that was produced in a good way.” Sam goes for the veggies. Stop eating soybeans that are not grown in your own yard or somewhere near you.
Locally produced organic foods are the only real solution to environment-related issues.
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