Green Space Re-Think the Burger

Demand for meat globally has multiplied in recent years, mostly due to the proliferation of huge, factory farms all over the world. Along with the issues of animal welfare, these assembly-line cattle and pig feeding operations use enormous amounts of energy, pollute water and air, generate greenhouse gases and demand enormous supplies of corn, soy and other grains.

Environmental Impact

It is estimated that in the last five months of 2007, 1,250 square miles of Brazilian rain forest were destroyed for crop and grazing land. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that livestock production is responsible for almost a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gases. The EPA has found that agriculture (most of which is supplying grains for livestock feed) is responsible for nearly three quarters of all water quality problems in American rivers and streams.

Your Health

Cattle are meant to digest grass, not grain. Grain feeding forces the cattle to fattenup quickly, and puts more total fat in the sirloin we eat. It also allows industrial farms to confine the animals in mass. However, mass confinement and the digestive problems that arise from feeding cattle an unnatural diet lead to the spread of health problems and the need for antibiotics for the animals. Ingesting antibiotics in the meat we eat is threatening the usefulness of the antibiotics administered to people.
Additionally, when cattle are fed grain, rather than grass, their intestinal tracts become unnaturally acidic, which allows the growth of pathogenic E. coli bacteria, a pathogen that can harm and kill people.
On average, an American eats close to 110 grams of protein a day. This is more than twice the recommended level. Eating too much animal protein has been linked to heart disease, some cancers and diabetes.

What Can You Do?

Eat less meat, but try particularly to cut down on your intake of beef. Cattle farming is the most polluting of all industrialized meat production. When you buy any kind of meat, buy grass-fed from farms that allow the animals to graze, and try to purchase all your foods from as local a source as possible. Talk to your butcher about his/her sources. Packaged meat from farms that do not use antibiotics, and grass feed their animals proudly state these facts and can be found locally at Whole Foods and D’Agostino’s, among other stores.
Stay tuned for our next article on ocean-friendly seafood options.
— The Rye Garden Club Conservation Committee