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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Livestock's long shadow

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Harvey Ussery <boxwood@nelsoncable.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Livestock's long shadow
  • Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2008 12:08:11 -0500


For the record, homegrown meat is fine with me; it's the unsustainable
industrial feedlots and poultry that supplies the excess and ecological
damage.

paul, commenting on:

"The FAO stated that the world's livestock generate more greenhouse gases
than the entire transportation industry."

What the FAO says is true, both with reference to what comes out of the south end of livestock animals--and the growing of ungodly amounts of grain crops to feed them in ways that release huge quantities of CO2 to the atmosphere. But Paul is right: The FAO fails to point out that the problem is only with industrial livestock paradigms. As Ken pointed out in an earlier post, all that manure doesn't have to contribute to greenhouse gases if we make wise decisions about managing it and retaining its valuable carbon content. And a minimal-tillage, non-chemical agriculture (which in the case of most livestock species means pasture rather than plow) does much to sequester carbon in the soil.

Once again, theory means little, practice means everything.

~Harvey

--
Harvey in northern Va
www.themodernhomestead.us

"Can't you see those dark clouds gathering up ahead?
They're gonna wash this planet clean, like the Bible said.
Now you can hold on steady, try to get ready,
But everybody's gonna get wet--
Don't think it won't happen just because it hasn't happened yet!" (Jackson
Browne)




  • Re: [Livingontheland] Livestock's long shadow, Harvey Ussery, 01/27/2008

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