Issues of Meat Production

Patricia KittrellIEP

English 1010

Have you ever wondered what’s in our food? Because of our advancements in science and our growing population, we have become creative with food production in the United States. I am interested in this topic because I care about what I put in my body and I have concerns about corporation’s roles in America’s ecosystem. The way to fix our food policy problems is very complex because there are many dilemmas corporations face that interfere with the benefit of the general public. But unless we change soon, we will cause permanent damage to the Earth and our health. I want to find out how to fix our food problems in America without horrible toxic factory farms in the equation. In North America, our food polices hit rock bottom about 25 years ago. Since then, we have compromised our morals and ethics in order to create food for our population. It is time to get out of crisis and start making healthy decisions for the people of America.

What’s the problem?In the U.S., we have morally and

ethically wrong policies for our beef production. Our beef is stuffed full of growth hormones that cause cancer, antibiotics that destroy immune systems and make harmful bacteria stronger, and grains which are not naturally part of a cow’s diet. Corporations have turned our food sources into muddy, disease- ridden slop yards. These processes are unhealthy and are not sustainable. In addition, they suppress the cow’s natural ability to fight infection and disease. Why would we want to eat a bunch of half dead cows that are barely surviving? When the cattle are taken to the slaughtering factory, they are not cleaned. Ground beef frequently contains fecal matter that is toxic to humans. Additionally, the factory farms feed their live cows dead cow remnants, which results in mad cow disease that is transferable to humans and is very deadly. We need to get back to producing food for nutrition, not just to expand corporate bank accounts.

London’s Dairy Farms

The first article I picked was written by Jason Smith. This article, written in 2010, defends factory farms, using the example of a large new farm in Lincolnshire, London. This farm has about 8,000 cows, which is no comparison to the 32,000 cows in the largest U.S. dairy farm. This factory has some very nice features. Smith says that the cows are raised indoors with heating insulation and air conditioning. They have 24-hour surveillance, and two months of holiday between their calving and milking period. The cows are fed a diet that is scientifically proven to be most beneficial to milking cows. The farm has four full time vets, and manure excavation systems, which help produce a portion of the farms electricity. The article shows that new factory farms are establishing alternative processes with the idea of creating a more sustainable and ecologic production. In conclusion, this is a great example of the way factory farming should be done.

Meat is not so Sustainable

The second article I picked is in the New York Times written by James McWilliams. McWilliams is a history professor at Texas State University, who specializes in U.S. environmental history. In his article, he talks about how producing sustainable free-range meat for everyone is not realistic. Grass-fed cows produce more methane than grain-fed cows. Grass-fed cows would need almost half the country’s land, and already a huge span of land the size of France has been carved out of the Brazilian Rainforest for cow production. Also, nonindustrial farms use industrial animal breeds so that their animals can grow faster, but they get exercise related injuries in large pastures. Rotational grazing (the practice of using cow manure to fertilize the grass they eat and other crops) is better in theory than in reality: the food production system is already so corrupt, there are not enough clean resources to create an ecofriendly rotational grazing system. All in all, the author states that industrial farming is not the answer, and the question becomes whether or not we should produce meat at all.

Joel Salatin proves farming Sustainable

My third article directly responds to the last article. An eco-farmer named Joel Salatin owns Polyface Farms in Swoope, Virginia where they pasture raise animals the way nature intended. He first states that 95 percent of our methane problem lies in our country’s wetlands, so the methane that comes from cows is not statistically significant. Next, explains that modern science, when used with care, helps with the economic and ecologic problems of organic free-range farming. He uses space-age technology, biomimicry, and close management to increase production, instead of chemicals and other unnatural procedures. He states that the rainforest is used to grow transgenic corn and soybeans to feed animals, not for cows to graze on. The bash on industrial breeds is also untrue. Salatin says, “Chickens walking on pasture certainly do not have any more leg sprains than those walking in a confinement facility. […] Walking is walking — and it’s generally considered to be a healthy practice, unless you’re a tyrant.” (Salatin, “Joel Salatin responds to New York Times’ ‘Myth of Sustainable Meat’”). Next, he addresses the biased concern about farmers not being able to produce environmentally-friendly meat, because eventually farmers would have to cut corners to compete. Basically, farms are morally and ethically wrong because they were designed to make money, not produce moral meat. The failed natural pasture-based farms didn’t succeed because of mismanagement in the field. Lastly, he speaks to his people. He explains that as a species, we are failing to take care of our ecosystem. Five hundred years ago, there were twice as many herbivores on the planet as there are today, without the use of corn and soy. Why do we think that the only way to keep this many herbivores around is to manufacture and feed them GMO corn and soy? Animals have a natural cycle to fertilize the land. In fact, no ecosystems survive without animals. In order to help keep the ecologic cycle moving, Salatin wants to have the food come from the same land that the animal will live and die on, for a totally closed loop. To live harmoniously with the animals, people must eat local food and the animals must eat our wasted food. In conclusion, Joel Salatin disproves everything McWilliams says about sustainable farming by creating a living and working sustainable farm. Joel Salatin’s recommendation is to start your own eco-friendly farm and he has plenty of books to teach you how.

Current Advancements in SustainabilityThe fourth article is written by Mary Lee

Chin who works for factsaboutbeef.com. It states that factory farms are becoming more sustainable. The corporations claim they have 32 percent less work-related injuries, ten or less percent improvement in water quality, and reduction in landfill contributions, water use, resource and energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emission. They state that they have made improvements in crop yields, machine and irrigation technology, and fertilizer management. The website also seems to be funded by the big beef companies. This shows that the corporation is only interested in making improvements that save them money. There should also be improvements in the humane treatment of animals and food quality but nothing is mentioned. This is a great way to expand the bank accounts of food production corporations, but not a good way to produce ethical food.

Keeping it Real

The fifth article is written by David Braun in National Geographic. The article starts by stating that U.S. food production corporations are extremely corrupt. They have almost no restrictions, and have almost all negative effects on their environment (people and Earth.) We are very cruel and ungrateful to our food source, and in return we are struck with disease. The agricultural process was once a biology science, and now it is a chemistry science, and most agribusinesses aren’t even aware of our natural ecological systems anymore. First, raising cattle creates a large demand for natural resources, and it is better to not farm cattle. Although food production policies in the U.S. are currently in bad shape, it seems they are getting better. At least the government has banned companies from hiding inside documentation of the farms. David Braun of Nation Geographic says that we specifically need to speak out and demand complete knowledge of how and where animals are produced and what the environmental standards are. We should vote for subsidies that provide crops for people, not for animals. We should ask for policies to reduce farm animal neglect and disease contamination, and encourage grocers to stock more sustainable vegetarian protein alternatives. Shop at local farmer’s markets and other more sustainable food sources, which also establish a sense of community necessary, to change our government policies. In conclusion, the article explains to the people that meat is just not sustainable, and we need to start eating more plants.

The Road to RecoveryIn conclusion, we need to make our food

production more sustainable. My research shows that agribusiness’s power comes from profit. Currently, we don’t have enough laws to protect our food quality, and corporations only protect their wallet. We, as people of the Earth, need to treat everything in our environment with respect. When we do farm animals, we should be treating them with care, learning from our ecosystem, and, when possible, allow things to revert back to the Earth’s natural state, instead stripping away all of our natural resources. We need to evolve into a more thoughtful species, using our powerful knowledge and thought for the greater good of our neighbor and our mother Earth. Producing cattle in a sustainable way seems to be very complicated. It is better to raise a few animals that eat our leftover food and acceptable animal byproducts. We also need new plant-based protein sources. As people of a democracy, we need to speak up and demand a change in our country. Specifically, we need to buy more sustainable foods like grass-fed beef, and non GMO soy milk. We need to change today, and we can’t start without you.

Works Cited• Frankensteer. Marrin Canell and Ted Remerowski, CBC International Sales, 2006. Film • Chin, Mary Lee. Raising Beef Isn’t Sustainable? “It’s More Sustainable Than You Think.”

Factsaboutbeef.com. The Beef Checkoff, September 30, 2013. Web. 16 December 2013. • Salatin, Joel. “Joel Salatin responds to New York Times’ ‘Myth of Sustainable Meat’.”

Grist.com. All rights reserved, 17 April 2012. Web. 16 December 2013. • McWilliams, James E. “The Myth of Sustainable Meat.” Nytimes.com. 12 April 2012. Web. 16

December 2013.

• Smith, Jason. “In defense of factory farming.” Spiked-online.com. All rights reserved, 25 October 2010. Web. 16 December 2013.

• Braun, David. “Factory Farming is Not the Best We Have to Offer.” Newswatch.nationalgeographic.com. All rights reserved, 13 October 2011. Web. 16 December 2013.