Carbon and grassland , interesting article Nov 2021

[Henery]

https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/articles/what-role-for-livestock-in-climate-friendly-farming/
Apologies if this has been posted previously, but worth a read.

 

[delilah]

Yeah, I stopped reading when I got to point 1.
Patrick Holden is a good man. He remains the only person I have heard throughout the vegan debate tell the truth of it when he said on the radio "If you want to save the planet eat red meat".
And then they go and spoil it by finding it impossible to resist the urge to discriminate between 'good' and 'bad' systems. Same as the Soil Association do.
The damage is in the food chain. If only the Sustainable Food Trust, and the NFU, and everyone in between, would just focus on that message, rather than slagging each other off, maybe we would get somewhere.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I thought it was well written and agree with virtually all of it, I could "nip pick" with a few points, but that would be getting into the minutia of the arguments.

 

[JohnGalway]

In point 6 I would strongly disagree with the use of the word "intensive", probably copy & paste "industrial" from point 1.

In the second paragraph under "What type of livestock systems?" I'd like clarification of the word "extensive". One can do a lot of good for soil with large #'s in small areas moved frequently. So is that extensive or intensive, given all of the stock might be on one acre, but the stocking rate for the entire farm might tell another story.

I do agree GWP100 should be scrapped in favour of GWP*. Ffinlo Costain had Professor Myles Allen talking about this on Farm Gate podcast ages ago.

Soil carbon levels can be increased faster than "a few decades".

Rotational grazing while certainly better than overgrazing/set stocking, I'd suggest it's the article author needs to do more reading/viewing to broaden their own knowledge.

No problem with moving away from nitrogen, I don't use it now anyway. Again I question the use of the word "intensive".

Not sure I like the "appropriate grazing" term under biodiversity. While believing in science, I saw an article the last day where scientists were questioning the discovery of a planet "that shouldn't exist". Thanks to experience of botched land management practices in the past and articles like I mentioned, I retain a healthy, well stocked, source of skepticism.

I do think synthetic chemicals, poorer nutrition, is to blame for a lot of human and animal ill's in today's world.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

we have to remember or ask who is the article aimed at? If farmers, then yes there is a lot that needs altering, but if at the general public then pretty good, and great to read anything that stops this "meat bad, vegan good" argument.

 

[delilah]

if at the general public then pretty good, and great to read anything that stops this "meat bad, vegan good" argument.

In what way is telling the general public that most UK livestock production is 'industrial', stopping the 'meat bad, vegan good' argument ? .

 

[Ffermer Bach]

But there are some aspects of agriculture that are industrial, I am unsure about eating farmed Salmon, as I worry about their being fed on Sand Eels, and what their fishing is doing to the sea and wild fish, just as I would be worried about drinking Almond Milk (because of it's production in California and water use etc), so we need to be discerning consumers and encouraging the public to think that is a good thing.

 

[Henery]

The key to it all is getting more and more consumers on side and buying into the truth regarding red meat and how it’s produced in the UK. However government wants cheap food and makes no secret of the fact. They are willing to ignore the environmental implications of double cropped Brazilian Soya being shipped across the world to prop up the Poultry industry. Unfortunately the powerful lobby within NFU producing intensive white meat feel the same.
I’m afraid nothing is going to change much anytime soon.
Yes I know some cattle rations contain soya too…..

 

[Ffermer Bach]

The key to it all is getting more and more consumers on side and buying into the truth regarding red meat and how it’s produced in the UK. However government wants cheap food and makes no secret of the fact. They are willing to ignore the environmental implications of double cropped Brazilian Soya being shipped across the world to prop up the Poultry industry. Unfortunately the powerful lobby within NFU producing intensive white meat feel the same.
I’m afraid nothing is going to change much anytime soon.
Yes I know some cattle rations contain soya too…..

The sustainable food trust has written a piece about Soya, and basically it is grown for other uses and cattle in the UK eat very little and what they do is really upcycling waste from the primary production.

Are dairy cows and livestock behind the growth of soya in South America? | Sustainable Food Trust

Soya fed to dairy cows contributes to the destruction of rainforests, however grass-fed dairy offers a more sustainable alternative

sustainablefoodtrust.org

 

[JohnGalway]

we have to remember or ask who is the article aimed at? If farmers, then yes there is a lot that needs altering, but if at the general public then pretty good, and great to read anything that stops this "meat bad, vegan good" argument.

It should be accurate regardless of who it's aimed at. Some of the great unwashed will be ignorant of farming technicalities but supportive of individuals and groups who, plainly put, hold an anti farmer agenda. I see more liability for farmers in that public support of others than profit for farmers in public support for positive steps.

 

[delilah]

The sustainable food trust has written a piece about Soya, and basically it is grown for other uses and cattle in the UK eat very little and what they do is really upcycling waste from the primary production.

Are dairy cows and livestock behind the growth of soya in South America? | Sustainable Food Trust

Soya fed to dairy cows contributes to the destruction of rainforests, however grass-fed dairy offers a more sustainable alternative

sustainablefoodtrust.org

And that is a better article, and just the sort of education that needs to go on, as it doesn't seek to divide UK livestock into 'good' and 'bad', unlike the article in the OP.

 

[deleted user 837354]

But there are some aspects of agriculture that are industrial, I am unsure about eating farmed Salmon, as I worry about their being fed on Sand Eels, and what their fishing is doing to the sea and wild fish, just as I would be worried about drinking Almond Milk (because of it's production in California and water use etc), so we need to be discerning consumers and encouraging the public to think that is a good thing.

Farmed fish can have a big impact on the environment- not just because of the amount of fish species used to feed them (assuming real deal fish protein is used- I understand their are alternatives) but also the amount of disease, pests and effluent they produce which all has to go somewhere.

I wonder if farmed fish could be grown in man-made kelp beds as these would collect a lot of carbon dioxide over time and form a habitat for them?