Some Austrailian scientists have come up with a truly novel way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - make cows more like kangaroos! According to a recent New York Times article, kangaroos and cows have very similar digestive systems, but unlike cows, kangaroos do not burp methane, a potent greenhouse gas. (And yes, I do mean burp - contrary to popular belief, it’s what comes out the front, not the back, of cows that contributes to climate change.) So in order to cut Australia’s GHG emissions, a team of microbiologists and genetic researchers are hoping to find a way make a cow’s gut act like that of a kangaroo.
Good luck to them. In the meantime, meat - beef in particluar - remains the single most vexing issue for food lovers concerned about the effects of diet on our environment. The methane emitted in cow burps is more than 20 times as powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2, and it is far from the only environmental problem with associated with meat: the carbon footprint of a steak includes all of the fossil fuels used to produce the fertilizer and grow the grain that fed the animal. Depending on where the animal was raised, it may also include the fuel used to convert forest into grazing land (of course, such deforestation also increases atomospheric CO2 in that it destroys the forests that would otherwise absorb it). In fact, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that globally, livestock generates 18 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than transportation, when emissions associated with deforestation are taken into account. Given all this, there is a school of thought that maintains that no matter how much local, organic produce you buy, you simply can’t eat sustainably unless you go vegetarian.
There would be an armed rebellion if I tried to impose a meatless regime in our house. Neither my husband nor my children, who happily describe themselves as carnivores, would stand for it. Fortunately, there are ways to keep meat in our diets and still call ourselves environmentalists.
First and foremost, of course, is to eat less of it. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, if every American eliminated just one quarter-pound serving of beef per week, it would be the equivalent of taking four to six million cars off the road. So my kids practically stand up and cheer when there is red meat on our table, because it doesn’t happen all that often.
When I do serve meat, I do my best to make sure that it is locally raised, grass-fed and organic. The jury is still out regarding the relative GHG emissions of conventional vs. grass-fed beef (pastured cows have methane problems, too), but the most recent studies indicate that when all the variables are considered, including the role of pasturelands in carbon sequestration, grass-fed has a slight advantage. Since pastured cows don’t eat grain, there is no need for fertilizers. Also, since the cows literally eat what is under their feet, there is no need to transport tons of feed over hundreds or even thousands of miles from where it is grown to where it is used. Locally raised grass-fed beef, of course, is even better, since it minimizes emissions from transporting the beef to market.
Aside from the effect on the climate, however, there are plenty of good reasons to go the grass-fed route. Conventional beef steers are fattened on grain (mostly corn, mostly grown with fertilizers and pesticides) on enormous, crowded feedlots that pollute both air and water. Corn is not a cow’s natural diet, and it actually sickens them, so that they are routinely dosed with antibiotics to keep them alive long enough to slaughter; the routine use of those antibiotics is a contributor to the rise of deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans. Grass-fed beef on the other hand is free of hormones and antibiotics; it’s lower in fat and calories, and rich in desirable omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids. Best of all, dangerous strains of e.coli bacteria can’t grow in the gut of a grass-fed steer.
So for me, the choice is clear. The only problem is where to procure the meat I want, at a price that doesn’t require raiding the children’s college fund. More on that soon….
