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MEAT—THE NEW OIL By MPG Staff
By now you’ve probably seen the sickening video footage of beef cattle being horribly abused by some of the vile degenerates at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company in Chino, CA. Footage shows innocent cows being kicked, beaten, dragged, shocked with electric prods and sprayed in the face with pressure hoses, while cows that could not stand on their own—because they were so badly injured or too ill—were rammed by forklifts in an effort to get them to their feet to pass USDA inspections. As we sat and watched the footage, we were sickened, moved to tears and enraged, once again. We looked at those animals, completely innocent and thought about their miserable lives. All that cruelty and suffering for the sake of consumption. Oil production—rigging, refining and transporting, contributes to the destruction of our environment as much as it does terror and many, many people are suffering because of this commodity. A change in the consumption of a resource that Americans take for granted may be in store—something widely available, in demand and a part of daily life. It’s not available at gas stations, though it is plentiful in supermarkets. If forty is the new twenty, then meat is new oil. Oil and meat share a great deal. Like oil, meat is subsidized by the federal government. Like oil, the demand for meat accelerates as nations become wealthier, which in turn sends prices higher. And like oil, meat is something people are encouraged to consume less of, for the sake of their health, our environment and to spare innocent cattle and other livestock their miserable lives and brutal deaths. Global demand for meat has increased in recent years, despite Mad Cow Disease, beef recalls, animal cruelty and the wealth of knowledge we have about how unhealthy the consumption and production of (red) meat is. This increase in the demand and consumption of beef is fed and encouraged by growing affluence and nourished by an increase in the numbers of cruel and appalling confinement cage operations that exist, like the now closed Hallmark/Westland slaughter-house. On top of their heinous treatment of animals, these assembly-line meat factories consume enormous amounts of energy, pollute our water, generate significant greenhouse gases and require increasing amounts of corn, soy and other grains—a dependency that has led to the destruction of vast parts of our world’s tropical rain forests. In Brazil, where Ethanol powers automobiles, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, announced emergency measures to halt the burning and cutting of his country’s rain forests for crop and grazing land. In eight months alone, the government reports that 1,500 square miles have been lost. The world’s total meat supply was 71 million tons in 1961. In 2007, it was estimated to be 284 million tons. Per capita consumption has more than doubled over that period and in the developing world, it rose twice as fast, doubling in the last twenty years. World meat consumption is expected to double again by 2050, a relentless growth in livestock production. “Growing” meat uses so many resources that it’s difficult to tally them all. The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that livestock production generates nearly one-fifth of the world’s greenhouse gases—more than transportation! If each meat-eating American were to reduce their meat consumption by just twenty percent, it would be as if each person converted their gas-guzzler to a hybrid. Grain, meat and energy are roped together in a way that will likely result in a further increase in the cost of livestock feed, particularly corn and soy. The environmental impact of growing so much grain for animal feed is profound. Agriculture in the United States, much of which now serves the demand for meat, contributes to nearly three-quarters of all water quality problems in the nation’s rivers and streams, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Because the stomachs of cattle are meant to digest grass, not grain, cattle raised industrially only “thrive” in that they that they gain weight quickly. This diet makes it possible to remove cattle from their natural environment and encourage the efficiency of mass confinement and slaughter. But it causes enough health problems that administration of antibiotics is routine, so much so that it can result in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten the usefulness of medicines that treat people and pets. Those grain-fed animals, in turn, are contributing to health problems among the world’s wealthier citizens—heart disease, some forms of cancer and diabetes. The argument that meat provides useful protein makes sense if the quantities are small. But there are healthier and more environmentally sound ways to consume protein. Americans consume close to 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish per year per capita, an increase of 50 pounds per person from 50 years ago. On average, Americans consume around 110 grams of protein a day, about twice the federal government’s recommended allowance. Of 110 grams, 75 grams come from animal protein. The recommended level is itself considered by many dietary experts to be higher than it need be. Thirty grams of protein per day is sufficient for the average, healthy adult—virtually all of which can be derived from plant sources. At present, the best hope for change lies in the hands, hearts and minds of consumers, who if not already, need to be made aware of the true costs of industrial meat production. When looking at environmental problems in the U.S., almost all of them have their source in food production, particularly meat production. Israel and Korea are the lead nations experimenting with the use of animal waste to generate electricity. Some of the biggest hog farm operations in the United States are starting to reap the rewards of converting manure into fuel. Pigs and chickens, which convert grain to meat far more efficiently than beef cattle, are increasingly the meats of choice for producers, accounting for 70% of total meat production. Once, these animals were raised locally, reducing transportation costs and allowing their waste to be spread on nearby fields. Now hog production facilities that resemble prisons more than farms are hundreds of miles from major population centers and their manure heaps pollute rivers, streams and groundwater. Many hog factories and farms produce more than 50 million tons of excremental waste annually. Animal welfare may not yet be the major concern it indeed is, but as the horrors of raising meat in confinement becomes better known, more animal lovers may start to react. The world would no doubt be a better place—where some of the grain, not a “native” food for cows, can be directed to feed our fellow human beings who would benefit from its nutrition. Fortunately Americans are already buying more environmentally friendly products, choosing more sustain-ably produced meat, eggs and dairy. Farmer’s markets that provide organically grown produce and foods have doubled over the last ten years as the demand for healthier fuel for our bodies has also increased.
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This article was co-written by MPG staff members who gathered data from several responsible sources. While this article may seem to proselytize vegetarianism, it was written as much for the sake of animals as it is for the sake of the environment we share with them. One of the co-authors of this article is not vegetarian.