Motivation Monday. Getting out the Facts

I do not participate in "Meatless Mondays" there are days I may not consume some meat, but I can't remember the last time that was.  I like meat. I like the flavor, I like the texure.  I like pork, chicken, turkey, and of course BEEF!  Fish is good too. 

I don't hold it against anyone who wants to abstain from eating meat. Some people don't appreciate the things about it that I do.  And that is okay.  I hate onions, large chunks of raw tomato gross me out and saurkraut is gag worthy.  I don't hold it against people if they don't like meat.

I do hold it against people when they are spreading false information and too readily buy into what the enviroquacks want people to believe.

Part of Los Angeles touting their Meatless Mondays was to help save the environment because..

 Between feeding them, providing them water and using up land to keep these animals housed, livestock use more natural resources than virtually anything. Not to mention transportation of animals and their products.  source

Excuse me?  Last I checked

• water was a renewable resource
• grazing lands account for 783 millions acres or 35% of the US,much of that (about 587 million acres) is unsuitable for growing crops. Raising livestock on it doubles the land area that can be used to raise food for a very hungry world.
• Fruits and veggies also have to be trucked to the market

“Clearing the Air: Livestock’s Contribution to Climate Change,” a study by Frank Mitloehner,

Ph.D., associate professor at University of California, Davis, points out that raising livestock in developed countries, such as the United States, results in far fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than in developing countries. According to EPA, the U.S. transportation sector accounts for at least 26 percent of total annual anthropogenic (man-made) GHG emissions in this country, compared to less than 3 percent associated with total livestock production. source

If we aren't producing the beef there are many other countries willing to step up like Argentina, Brazil and Russia.  We do it more efficiently. Why not produce our own beef supply?


Will Meatless Mondays really help the planet?

• Miniscule impact: According to Dr. Jude Capper at Washington State University, the environmental impact of every American following Meatless Mondays is miniscule – the impact of one meatless day per week is less than one half of one percent of the U.S. carbon footprint.
• Sustainable beef: U.S. cattlemen raise 20 percent of the world’s beef with 7 percent of the world’s cattle, making the United States a leader in raising sustainable beef, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (2011).
• Vested interest in the environment: America’s cattle ranchers have a vested interest in sustainable environmental practices – after all, the beef community thrives on multi-generational family farms. On average, each cattle farmer has 13 different practices in place to accomplish environmental goals such as nurturing wildlife, preventing erosion and conserving and protecting water.

Farmers and Ranchers have actually reduced the carbon footprint of producing cattle by 16 percent in the last 30 years. 

I could seriously go on about this all day. If you want to read more about debunking some of the myths about meat, health and the environment I encourage you to check out the links I provided.  A great one that is brief and concise can be found HERE.

Nobody cares more for the land these cattle are raised on than people who take care of the land.  97% of livestock operations are owned by family operations like mine.  We have a deep love and connectedness to the land.  We want it to be there for future generations to love like we do.

I really would love to answer any questions that are out there.