Apocalypse Cow: How Meat Killed the Planet

Do I see that right in that it makes it over 1bn total cattle population?

The reason so little land is used for non life-stock is because we import most of our fruit, veg etc as it grows faster and is cheaper in Africa, South America etc and because we want it out of season.

My farm is surrounded by old orchards that are not used because people don't want English apples and although Cider is making some come back is no well near where it was 100 years ago.

Still I like my sheep and cows on our land... They make far less mess than the people who walk around the cotswolds.

There is just loads of interesting stats and numbers out there that really stop to make you think:

rockits said:

It is always tricky to get exact stats on UK land use. I have read that 51 per cent of our land is used for livestock or growing food for livestock, while growing cereals, fruit and vegetables for human consumption uses less than 20 per cent, and trees have just 10 per cent.

I have picked out these:

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This is also interesting:

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But we are just a tiny island and our use is insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

I am not sure the UK is insignificant but agree the whole globe is the key. The UK are still a big player in this trend and issue though. Reason being as it seems the more affluent countries eat more meat. This is the trend with China growing and becoming more affluent so their desire, growth and consumption of meat is increasing and expected to increase further.

Over the past 50 years, global meat production has almost quadrupled from 84 million tons in 1965 to more than 330 million tons in 2017. The IAASTD predicts that this trend will continue, especially because the growing urban middle classes in China and other emerging economies will adapt to the so-called western diet of people in North America and Europe with its taste for burgers and steaks.
On average, every person on Earth currently consumes 43.5 kilograms of meat per year. This figure includes babies and adults, meat eaters and vegetarians alike. In 2013, US citizens consumed 115 kilograms of meat and people in the UK 81 kilograms, while citizens in India only ate 3.7 kilos. In general, men eat more meat than women. In the EU, meat consumption has stagnated recently, with a growing number of people switching to vegetarian and vegan diets. Moreover, beef has lost in popularity while the consumption of chicken has increased remarkably. The favourite meat of Europeans is pork. The Chinese also share this appetite for pork. Since 1965, per capita meat consumption in China has increased six-fold. Since the population almost doubled to 1.4 billion people over the same period, global demand for meat and animal feed has exploded.

Things will increase as the population does... but I have made my point clear on the previously.

We still need all the sheep and cows for their fleace and hides... otherwise its more synthetic products, plastic and oil used.

Fair point....complex issue....needs some complex thought

Lets beef it up for our cows.

We have noticed since our move that much more of the produce in the stores, even Tesco, is local and if its not in season its not in the store and no one seems to complain. In Ireland Wicklow & Wexford are the core agricultural counties and Wexford is famous for it's fruit, especially Strawberries. You can get Strawberries out of season here but the stores give very little shelf space and you don't see much in trolleys but come the season masses of shelf space for fruit and every trolley has some in it.

Local produce for local people when in season, much more sustainable - additionally it tastes better too

zagatoes30 said:

We have noticed since our move that much more of the produce in the stores, even Tesco, is local and if its not in season its not in the store and no one seems to complain. In Ireland Wicklow & Wexford are the core agricultural counties and Wexford is famous for it's fruit, especially Strawberries. You can get Strawberries out of season here but the stores give very little shelf space and you don't see much in trolleys but come the season masses of shelf space for fruit and every trolley has some in it.

Local produce for local people when in season, much more sustainable - additionally it tastes better too

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100% agreed. Cut down on shipping, cut down on packaging, build more sustainable and self-sufficient local economies.

rockits said:

Fair point....complex issue....needs some complex thought

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I was quite interested in watching this as I was brought up on a sheep and dairy farm - probably not a surprise to those of you that know me - but anything fronted by that two-faced hypocrite George Moonbat has me reaching for the remote control.

One thing I've always wondered at is what crops do the no-meat brigade suggest be grown and harvested where only sheep are able to wander?

Felonious Crud said:

100% agreed. Cut down on shipping, cut down on packaging, build more sustainable and self-sufficient local economies.

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This ^^. Eat what is grown locally, organically and in season. The thought of further genetic modification or artificial improvement of what we eat frankly terrifies me. And then there’s the fact that the former tastes so much better too

zagatoes30 said:

Local produce for local people when in season, much more sustainable - additionally it tastes better too

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Felonious Crud said:

100% agreed. Cut down on shipping, cut down on packaging, build more sustainable and self-sufficient local economies.

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Rwc13 said:

This ^^. Eat what is grown locally, organically and in season. The thought of further genetic modification or artificial improvement of what we eat frankly terrifies me. And then there’s the fact that the former tastes so much better too

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While in theory I agree, how long are you going to be interested in living off cabbage a brussel sprouts:
https://www.vegsoc.org/cookery-school/blog/seasonal-uk-grown-produce/

Lots of the things on these list are not in season, they've just been stored (apples, pears, onions spring to mind) Others are stupid (mushrooms) as they are in season all year round.

January
Apples, Beetroot, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Celeriac, Celery, Chicory, Jerusalem Artichokes, Kale, Leeks, Mushrooms, Onions, Parsnips, Pears, Spring Greens, Spring Onions, Squash, Swedes, Turnips.

Lots of the others if they'd been left out in the fields this year would be a soggy much, I suspect.

Just a random article but this is telling:

Britain has not been fully self-sufficient since the eighteenth century. It imported large quantities of wheat, eggs and sugar during the Victorian era, growing an increasingly small proportion of what it ate until World War II,

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodand...least-self-sufficient-in-food-since-1968.html

C

One of the things I like about Sicily, I spend a lot of time there, is it is still very much little shops, fruit and veg shop, cheese shop, bakers shop, butchers shop, fish shop/ Market etc. Fruit and veg is all loose, only available in season, and you get it in a paper bag. People expect all foods 12 months of the year and from all corners of the world, which is fine as I'd be eating porridge and turnip forever, but there is a price to pay.

A decreased reliance on imported food is realistic, surely. The days of living in and never leaving an allotment are, mercifully and hopefully, over.

allandwf said:

One of the things I like about Sicily, I spend a lot of time there, is it is still very much little shops, fruit and veg shop, cheese shop, bakers shop, butchers shop, fish shop/ Market etc. Fruit and veg is all loose, only available in season, and you get it in a paper bag. People expect all foods 12 months of the year and from all corners of the world, which is fine as I'd be eating porridge and turnip forever, but there is a price to pay.

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I now live 90% of the time in the Algarve (away from the high tourist areas) and it is the same. Lots of local shops selling locally grown in season products plus traditional bakers and butchers. Everything you buy at these shops tastes significantly better and has authentic colour and texture compared to what you buy in the larger supermarkets - you should see the colour of true free range egg yolks that we get from our neighbours. It may be a little more expensive, but because we shop locally and daily you buy and waste less and so it actually works out cheaper.

At the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious, the climate in both the Algarve and Sicily is significantly different from the UK's

C

No **** Sherlock But does that mean we have to eat the same stuff all year round just because it can be grown in the Algarve and shipped. Alternative fruit and vegetables are grown in the UK all year round? But a combination of consumerism and (questionable) economics have pushed us in this direction

Rwc13 said:

Alternative fruit and vegetables are grown in the UK all year round?

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Umm, no. That's rather my point. 2/3s of sod all is harvestable in the UK at this time of year.

C