Adam Koncz based on what? Discouraging bad things and encouraging goods things is how things change. E.g. taxing cigarettes reduces uptake and pays for health costs to society.
David W. Scott Because eating meat is not a bad thing. Eating too much meat is a bad thing, just as eating too much bread. Extensively farming animals is not a bad thing. in fact extensive animal farming helps maintaining the highest bio diversity in many places, helps the soil regenerate, also utilize plant matter that is not consumable for humans. Extensive animal farming is often the only sustainable food production in many areas. Intensive animal farming can be bad thing especially if they are fed on grain.
However intensive plant farming is equally horrible. It creates the lowest biodiversity known on the planet. (with the exception of ice caps.) It destroys the very soil it is depends on. Some plants (like rice) generate just as much methane as cows do. Also there is an added ecological cost for the reliance of tropical plants.
[edit] I would add that the argument against intensive farming is that the animals consume grain and soy. Which is human food. But to solve that you don't have to ban meat. You should do as some European countries do. You should ban feeding human food to animals. In Portugal pigs eat acorn. In Norway pigs and sheep are pastured on mountain forests. Most of the cattle is grass fed.
Also please consider that the majority of wasted food are plant based. 55% of all fruit, 35% of grain is wasted. while "only" 20% of meat.
So my conclusion is that taxing meat is a horrible idea. What should be done is a careful regulation of the food industry putting tax on non-sustainable or damaging industries and products regardless whether it is plant or meat based. Large food monopolies should be split up and food produced locally, ecologically and sustainably should be subsidized
Many thanks! Japan, and many countries made many foods dumps, and many eat to our stomach, Please check eating volume since 1980s to now! Many Carbon emissions made, temperature rise! Shall reduce eating, stop eat GMO foods! Badman Nishioka
David W. Scott No it doesn't. In Europe most cattle pigs etc are fed on grass, acorn or on side products plant farming. Things that humans dont eat. If you dont utilize them for producing meat then it is a resource wasted. Extensive animal farming is one of the the least environmentally damaging form of agriculture. While intensive plant farming is one of the most damaging. The reason intensive animal farming is the worst is because it relies on intensive plant farming. And if that is what you talking about then you are right. It does waste resources. However that is a very uniquely US way of farming animals. It is not unheard in Europe or Asia but much more regulated and much less present.
Intensive plant farming is one of the most horrible way of producing food. It effectively reduces biodiversity to a single species for hundreds of km2. It destroys the soil it relies on. The deep ploughing destroys billions burrowing animals that would otherwise help the soil to regenerate. The use of pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, rodenticide poisons the food and soil and ensures that basically no animals lives on it.
Nishioka Yoshio Best way to reduce waste of foods is to make supermarkets and restaurants donate foods that are close to "best before" dates (and stuff that does not look pretty on their shelves) to charities that help the local homeless and the impoverished. Most places simply send this stuff to landfills and is perfectly edible ("best before" does not equal "must use before"). To change the business practices there has to be a combination of carrot and stick. Taxation and reward.
David W. Scott Your articles doesn't talk about ecological footprint, but carbon footprint which is only a tiny part of the ecological footprint. Yes it is the hyped up part, but not the only part. 60% of the agricultural green house gas emission is nitrous oxide and has nothing to do with carbon footprint. it is only 4 times as potent greenhouse gas than methane and almost all of them comes from plant farming because of fertilizers. I doubt there is more sustainable and less damaging form of plant farming than managed grazing. You can basically maintain quasi natural environment and take out a reasonable amount of calories. Any form of plant farming where you produce the same amount of calories would require land clearance where you basically destroy the natural ecosystem. Yes with careful management, reduced output you can prevent soil erosion/degradation you may opt out any chemicals and pest control (essentially going back to extensive agriculture) but you still need to clear the land, destroying the local ecosystem.
Now I understand that in arid or semi-arid climate pasturing is less or not sustainable, while traditional plant farming might be but that plant farming still requires destroying the natural habitats. And there are other climates (boreal forest, tundra) where plant farming is not possible or takes massive resources while extensive animal farming can flourish without damaging the environment.
But that is NOT MY POINT and NEVER WAS
My original point. Sustainable, extensive food (meat or plant) production is good. Not just good it is great they do complement each other. They can even help the environment. The waste from plant farming can provide feed for animals, the waste from animal farming can provide nutrients to the soil and plants. In some places extensive meat production is unsustainable in other plant farming is unsustainable. People have to produce what is sustainable. Such food will be expensive.
Intensive industrialized food (meet or plant) production is bad, it is damaging and not sustainable, it destroys the ecosystem, but produce cheap (but crappy) food.
Now instead of taxing meat production the government should tax unsustainable, ecologically damaging, inhumane food production, without regarding whether it is plant or meat based..
That is an absolutely horrible and counter productive idea.
ReplyDeleteAdam Koncz based on what? Discouraging bad things and encouraging goods things is how things change. E.g. taxing cigarettes reduces uptake and pays for health costs to society.
ReplyDeleteDavid W. Scott Because eating meat is not a bad thing. Eating too much meat is a bad thing, just as eating too much bread.
ReplyDeleteExtensively farming animals is not a bad thing. in fact extensive animal farming helps maintaining the highest bio diversity in many places, helps the soil regenerate, also utilize plant matter that is not consumable for humans. Extensive animal farming is often the only sustainable food production in many areas.
Intensive animal farming can be bad thing especially if they are fed on grain.
However intensive plant farming is equally horrible. It creates the lowest biodiversity known on the planet. (with the exception of ice caps.) It destroys the very soil it is depends on. Some plants (like rice) generate just as much methane as cows do. Also there is an added ecological cost for the reliance of tropical plants.
[edit] I would add that the argument against intensive farming is that the animals consume grain and soy. Which is human food. But to solve that you don't have to ban meat. You should do as some European countries do. You should ban feeding human food to animals. In Portugal pigs eat acorn. In Norway pigs and sheep are pastured on mountain forests. Most of the cattle is grass fed.
Also please consider that the majority of wasted food are plant based. 55% of all fruit, 35% of grain is wasted. while "only" 20% of meat.
So my conclusion is that taxing meat is a horrible idea. What should be done is a careful regulation of the food industry putting tax on non-sustainable or damaging industries and products regardless whether it is plant or meat based. Large food monopolies should be split up and food produced locally, ecologically and sustainably should be subsidized
i love articles with zero source material.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks! Japan, and many countries made many foods dumps, and many eat to our stomach, Please check eating volume since 1980s to now! Many Carbon emissions made, temperature rise!
ReplyDeleteShall reduce eating, stop eat GMO foods! Badman Nishioka
Adam Koncz you also have to realise that growing meat uses waaay more resources than vegetables, so even if there is more wastage it's less damaging.
ReplyDeleteDavid W. Scott No it doesn't. In Europe most cattle pigs etc are fed on grass, acorn or on side products plant farming. Things that humans dont eat. If you dont utilize them for producing meat then it is a resource wasted.
ReplyDeleteExtensive animal farming is one of the the least environmentally damaging form of agriculture.
While intensive plant farming is one of the most damaging. The reason intensive animal farming is the worst is because it relies on intensive plant farming. And if that is what you talking about then you are right. It does waste resources. However that is a very uniquely US way of farming animals. It is not unheard in Europe or Asia but much more regulated and much less present.
Intensive plant farming is one of the most horrible way of producing food. It effectively reduces biodiversity to a single species for hundreds of km2. It destroys the soil it relies on. The deep ploughing destroys billions burrowing animals that would otherwise help the soil to regenerate. The use of pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, rodenticide poisons the food and soil and ensures that basically no animals lives on it.
Sorry! More short comment! You write long comment by your blog! Badman
ReplyDeleteMr.Ron! Arigatouu! Badman
ReplyDeleteMs West Hollywood! Thaanks! BM
ReplyDeleteMr. Brendan! Arigatouu! Thaanks! Badman
ReplyDeleteMr. Sergei, Thaanks! Badman
ReplyDeleteMr. David, Thanks! I share up purpose, Government make to reduce waste of foods, how way do best or not? Badman
ReplyDeleteNishioka Yoshio Best way to reduce waste of foods is to make supermarkets and restaurants donate foods that are close to "best before" dates (and stuff that does not look pretty on their shelves) to charities that help the local homeless and the impoverished. Most places simply send this stuff to landfills and is perfectly edible ("best before" does not equal "must use before").
ReplyDeleteTo change the business practices there has to be a combination of carrot and stick. Taxation and reward.
David W. Scott
ReplyDeleteYour articles doesn't talk about ecological footprint, but carbon footprint which is only a tiny part of the ecological footprint. Yes it is the hyped up part, but not the only part. 60% of the agricultural green house gas emission is nitrous oxide and has nothing to do with carbon footprint. it is only 4 times as potent greenhouse gas than methane and almost all of them comes from plant farming because of fertilizers.
I doubt there is more sustainable and less damaging form of plant farming than managed grazing. You can basically maintain quasi natural environment and take out a reasonable amount of calories. Any form of plant farming where you produce the same amount of calories would require land clearance where you basically destroy the natural ecosystem.
Yes with careful management, reduced output you can prevent soil erosion/degradation you may opt out any chemicals and pest control (essentially going back to extensive agriculture) but you still need to clear the land, destroying the local ecosystem.
Now I understand that in arid or semi-arid climate pasturing is less or not sustainable, while traditional plant farming might be but that plant farming still requires destroying the natural habitats. And there are other climates (boreal forest, tundra) where plant farming is not possible or takes massive resources while extensive animal farming can flourish without damaging the environment.
But that is NOT MY POINT and NEVER WAS
My original point. Sustainable, extensive food (meat or plant) production is good. Not just good it is great they do complement each other. They can even help the environment. The waste from plant farming can provide feed for animals, the waste from animal farming can provide nutrients to the soil and plants. In some places extensive meat production is unsustainable in other plant farming is unsustainable. People have to produce what is sustainable.
Such food will be expensive.
Intensive industrialized food (meet or plant) production is bad, it is damaging and not sustainable, it destroys the ecosystem, but produce cheap (but crappy) food.
Now instead of taxing meat production the government should tax unsustainable, ecologically damaging, inhumane food production, without regarding whether it is plant or meat based..