Cow Gas

Introduction
When one thinks of devastating environmental consequences green cow filled fields do not immediately pop into mind, but perhaps they should. What this log will focus on is the environmental impacts of livestock, specifically cattle, combined with a sharply increasing global demand for them on the commodity markets. We will also look at several alternatives solutions to this massive problem. The environmental implications associated with cattle have been proven to be more damaging then CO2 from vehicles and yet the topic goes unmentioned. It is for these reasons that we believe the issue is both relevant to our studies in sustainable societies and also hits a personal notes as one of our provinces is responsible for a large portion of Canadas cattle contributions.

Harmful Environmental Effects Of Livestock Production On The Planet 'Increasingly Serious,' Says Panel

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070220145244.htm
This article discusses livestock production playing a critical role in land degradation, climate change, water and biodiversity loss. It gives some startling numbers as well For example, grazing occupies 26 percent of the Earth's terrestrial surface, and feedcrop production requires about a third of all arable land. Expansion of livestock grazing land is also a leading cause of deforestation, especially in Latin America. In the Amazon basin alone, about 70 percent of previously forested land is used as pasture, while feed crops cover a large part of the remainder.

Livestocks Long Shadow Environmental Issues and Options

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsID=20772&CR1=warning
This is the UNs direct article regarding the findings of their report into the environmental implications of cattle rearing. It offered interesting statistics like 65 per cent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential of CO2. It also proposed some solutions to the issues like setting up biogas plant initiatives to recycle manure.

Cow 'emissions' more damaging to planet than CO2 from cars

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/cow-emissionsmore-damaging-to-planet-than-cosub2sub-from-cars-427843.html
A report that was published by the United Nations and alluded to earlier in the log identified world's rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. And they are blamed for a host of other environmental crimes, from acid rain to the introduction of alien species, from producing deserts to creating dead zones in the oceans, from poisoning rivers and drinking water to destroying coral reefs. We were interested in the coral reef connection which was explained like so. The pollution washes down to the sea, killing coral reefs and creating "dead zones" devoid of life. One is up to 21,000sqkm, in the Gulf of Mexico, where much of the waste from US beef production is carried down the Mississippi.

Livestock impacts on the environment

http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0612sp1.htm
This article was about the challenge of reconciling the two conflicting demands of animal food products and environmental services. It outlined the facts in the previous articles but also discussed how it would be possible to reconcile the two. One of the most interesting points was that "Future policies to protect the environment will therefore have to introduce adequate market pricing for the main inputs.

Pollution on the hoof

http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/15/opinion/ed-methane15
Obviously there has to be a demand for cattle and as our later articles will show it is ever-increasing. This article takes into account the fact that as living standards rise so does the demand for dairy and meat. There is a prediction that global demand will rise 50% by 2050 which means the effects of ranching would have to be cut in half to keep pollutants at their current levels which is still a very unsafe level at that.

Canadian develops cow emissions gauge

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Canadian+develops+emissions+g auge/4446578/story.html In an interesting example of environmental ingenuity a Canadian scientist has developed a way of measuring cow emissions using three very interesting components laser beams, GPS locators and chemical detectors. The laser beams are shot across herds of crazing cattle with sensors that detect different levels of chemicals this information is then sent back to some form of information gathering station. The article also discusses the issues with methane associated with cattle and live stock.

Canada Beef Our Industry

http://www.cbef.com/Industry.htm#beefprocessing Apparently what makes the Canadian beef industry unique is the Canadian beef advantage. This advantage is based on production in Canada posing less environmental risk then our American or European counterparts. Our cattle produce excellent quality high yielding carcasses (eww). This article also puts fourth some numbers such as the 1.6 million tons of beef produced in 2007. With numbers like that being turned out every year one can begin to grasp the size and scope of the environmental damage these production facilities or farms are causing.

Cattle prices climb on strong export demand

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Cattle-prices-climb-on-strong-apf3447912957.html?x=0 It important to understand the economics associated demand for cattle and how this plays into the issue we are discussing. In its simplest form the more that people want or are expected to want something the more they will pay which of course ensures there will be more people to make it. This article is about the recent surge in demand for cattle futures which is a form of financial derivative investors use to gain access to commodity markets. It is also a very good indicator of the general outlook for a product.

Exports to Europe Beefed Up

http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Exports+Europe+beefed/4440433/story.ht ml An important factor to consider when looking at the economics of a situation are the different markets available. The European Union previously had a duty of 20% on imports of beef. They have no dropped this duty and as a result exports have skyrocketed. The effect of this is a surge in production and also makes cattle rearing even more lucrative prompting more production in turn creating even more of an environmental strain.

Cattle Rally to Record as Demand Climbs, Boosting Wal-Mart Costs

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-09/cattle-rally-to-record-asdemand-climbs-boosting-wal-mart-costs.html When the futures as we discussed earlier surge in price the supply of animals in slaughterhouses will diminish causing prices to rise for retail stores such as Wal-Mart. This could in turn lead to companies like Wal-Mart looking for even more cost effective methods of acquiring beef to meet the demand. It is when corporations try to cut costs that we see a majority of ethical issues arise some pertaining to the environment such as worse living conditions and further degradation of the environment. These are all things to keep in mind when considering an issue like the cattle.

U.S. Beef and Cattle Industry:

Background Statistics and Information

http://www.ers.usda.gov/news/BSECoverage.htm This is all the background statistics of the U.S beef and cattle industry. Of interest to our findings in these figures are the staggering amount of imports from Canada that the U.S takes in each year. While it provides some relief that our environmental risk of production is lower then the U.S this is still causing substantial environmental damage on our own soil.

Cattlemen want $17M to slaughter old stock

http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Cattlemen+want+slaughter+stock/412368 3/story.html While all of these huge environmental issues are taking place the ranchers are asking for 17.2 millions from the government to slaughter old stock. Which means that the emissions producing machines entire life has been not only harmful to the environment but also in vain. The issue of responsible ranching is seriously at play here.

Vermont Farmers Going Green, Cutting Cow Emissions

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/vermont-farmers-going-green-cutting-cowemissions.html One way to address this issue that farmers in Vermont have undertaken is through changing the cattle's diet. A typical dies consists of corn and sometimes soybean while the new diet the farmers have introduced contains flaxseed, alfalfa and other greases that that high in Omega 3 fatty acids. This new diet is one tool farmers have for combating the issue.

Why mini cows could save the planet

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/25/miniature-cattleenvironmentally-friendly-beef One British professor has found that the mini cows he has been breeding since the 60s use 1/3 less food and half the amount of land can yeild up to three times the amount of meat. This is great news for the environment but the likelihood of a cattle industry dominated my miniature cows does seem quite small.

Pork belly cuts better for environment than beef steak

http://www.physorg.com/news188153855.html Much like biking is an alternative to driving this article deals with alternatives to beef and their effect on the enviroment. The global warming potential of a kilo of pork varies from 3.9 to 10 kilos of CO2-equivalents; that of a kilo of chicken from 3.7 to 6.9 kilos. The impact of beef on the environment lies between 14 and 32 kilos of CO2-equivalents. The production of a kilo of beef also requires a bigger land area and more fossil energy. Studies into chicken and pork have shown that chicken scores just a little better than pork. These results could be of potential interest for someone who is looking to lessen their own environmental impact through food choices. Will the market for beef diminish and rise in a market for chicken? Probably not but if enough people were conscientious with their food choices it would definitely be for the better.