MUST EAT MEAT

As a lover of meat, I feel I have to point out the other half of the farming story, not mentioned in the ‘From lab to table’ article in the November 2019 issue. While modern industrial animal farming, or CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations – even the name makes it sound like it wouldn’t produce good food) are bad for the environment because of greenhouse gases, desertification, and the like, properly managed animal farms are good for the environment. A study by the Michigan State University (‘Impacts of Soil Carbon Sequestration on Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Midwestern USA Beef Finishing Systems’) showed that, taking into account soil organic carbon sequestration, the emissions from carefully managed grazing cattle are -6.65 kg CO e kg carcass weight

2 CW −1 , as opposed to 6.12 kg CO2e kg CW−1 for feed lot finished cows*. So basically, this says that if half our cows were grass fed we would start reducing greenhouse gases.

Then, when it comes to the issue of desertification, I’ll let a picture do the talking. This is an unphotoshopped picture (bottom left) taken in the Karoo in the Eastern Cape, showing the results of conventional grazing on the right of the fence, and using holistic planned grazing** on the left. * Feedlot finishing is when the cows spend some months in pastures eating grass and then to fatten them up quickly, another six months or so on a diet of corn and other grains (and generally daily antibiotics because their bodies are designed for grass not grain).

** Holistic planned grazing or adaptive multi-paddock grazing is when the animals are kept in tight herds and moved to new paddocks daily or weekly – just like in nature where wildebeests have to keep moving to avoid becoming lion food. Google ‘Allan Savory’ to learn more.

Now excuse me while I go put a steak on the braai.

NILS MIDDELKOOP

Great letter, Nils. Thanks for the extra information that our story didn’t cover. Indeed, as you’ve discussed, well-managed grazing practices can actually benefit the environment, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (something I didn’t know). I think that the whole movement to create meat in laboratories is targeted at counteracting the problem of poorly run livestock yards, globally, which is an undeniable issue. But there needs to be a combined approach – better landmanagement practices (everywhere), as well as creating perfectly authentic

(and good tasting) meat in labs. Every step in the right direction will benefit our planet. Trust you enjoyed your steak…

– Mark, Editor