Comments on: Cattle May Move Inside With The Chickens.

By: Will

Will — Sat, 31 May 2008 18:47:31 +0000

Hi Rob, Swubird and chasgone – Shutting them inside in crowed unnatural conditions really disturbs me. And I am not an activist by any means on the eating of meat issue. I eat a lot less than I did as a child, but do not try to convince others that this somehow makes me a better person!

I am, however a huge supporter of the ethical production of food. The idea of raising cattle in the same manner as the factory production of chicken is certainly not ethical.

By: Will

Will — Sat, 31 May 2008 18:39:36 +0000

Hi Jennifer – You are right about the salmon. I have written about it a long time ago, links below. Maybe it is time for an update.

http://willtaft.com/environment/salmon-color-added/

http://willtaft.com/health/tainted-farmed-fish/

-Will

By: chaosgone

chaosgone — Fri, 30 May 2008 05:44:11 +0000

I hope they don’t do that. If beef farmers want help the environment, they should find a way to make fuel out of all of the cow dung.

chaosgones last blog post..The Top 100 Songs of 1978

By: Swubird

Swubird — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:12:57 +0000

Will:

I have to agree with you on this issue. Keep the cows outside, and let them eat grass. Indoor methane capture would probably be more difficult than it seems. On the other hand, ammonia emissions from cow dung all over the place is detrimental to the air quality. Maybe it’s a toss up. Methane, or ammonia. Either way, I think the beef growers have finally gotten Mad Cow Disease!

Have a nice day.

Swubirds last blog post..A MUCH DIFFERENT FUTURE

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:00:13 +0000

We should be concerned about the methane production of cattle and other farm animals. This is an issue.
We should eat less meat and encourage folks to go meat free.
It would be completely wrong, however, to move back to intensive animal production which is inhumane.
Thanks for post – keep it coming!

Robs last blog post..perfect parsnips?

By: Angus Bulls

Angus Bulls — Thu, 29 May 2008 04:09:32 +0000

Stick with grass fed beef all the way. You obviously need alot more productive land for it, but in the end happy cattle will make better beef.

I understand the environmental/economic reasons behind moving cattle indoors. I have even read somewhere of experiments in Australia to transfer gut bacteria from kangaroos to the stomachs of cattle and sheep , because the kangaroo doesn’t give off the same greenhouse gases!

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:55:32 +0000

Very interesting Will, so you try to cut down on greenhouse emissions, helping us out one way, but then there is the grass fed vs grain fed and how grass fed is more healthy, so many choices, which is right? maybe a combination? Learning so much here.

Bobs last blog post..Phoenix Mars Lander’s Arrival

By: Karen

Karen — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:42:32 +0000

This is frightening news. Feedlots are bad enough, and putting animals indoors will marginalize them even more from our landscape. Isn’t it nice to see cows at pasture as you’re driving down the highway, or worse a feedlot. Even if people see feedlots we can hope that their horrifying visibility will strike a chord with people and make them think twice about where their food is coming from.

There is a company called La Cense Beef that I think is trying to promote grass-fed, with a poster campaign in New York with signs like “It’s the end of the Feedlot as we know it.” My only hope in this case is that grass-fed, humanely-raised beef companies such as La Cense Beef, will, through advertising, be able to turn peoples heads and increase consumer awareness and choices when purchasing meat, hence, demanding nationwide change in beef production standards.

The company is just beginning this campaign, which I hope will be big. One component of the campaign is a website where you can enter to win a year’s worth of grass-fed beef (and a freezer to put it in) and enter a slogan, song, or movie line, with “grass-fed” in it – promoting awareness of the term.

the website for this is http://www.winagrassfedcow.com

and La Cense Beef’s website is http://www.lacensebeef.com

Viva la Grass-fed!

By: Jennifer Robin

Jennifer Robin — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:34:09 +0000

What a travesty. Ever since I learned about the differences between grain fed and grass fed beef, I have only eaten the latter. Same goes for salmon; I eat wild caught only. Did you know that farm raised salmon is grain fed too, with the result of altering the makeup of essential fatty acids in the marketed product, rendering it no more healthy to eat than grain fed beef?
Scary part is, I can see this indoor raising of livestock actually coming to pass because of the ability to trap and use the methane gas. At what cost to our dietary health is the question.

Jennifer Robins last blog post..Wordless Wednesday