I feel I need to respond to an article I recently read: “Hamburgers are the Hummers of Food in Global Warming: Scientists.”
First, let me introduce myself. I am a fifth generation farmer and rancher in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, on the edge of the Flint Hills. My wife, father and children produce corn, soybeans, wheat, hay and yes, beef. We are a small family farm and we are in the process of launching a beef business where we sell locally raised beef to our friends and neighbors.
Let me also preface this by saying I am also the Ag and Natural Resources Agent for Pottawatomie County. That is why some of the misinformation in the article bothered me.
First, it is mis-representation to say that the livestock sector or even the entire ag sector is responsible for 18 percent of the total greenhouse emissions. Pierre Gerber, a livestock policy officer who co-authored the UN report, agreed that 18 percent was a generalization and not accurate in terms of ag producers in the United States.
In April the U.S. EPA released a report called the “Inventory of U.S. Grennhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006.” In 2006 the EPA reported that U.S. agriculture (not just livestock) was responsible for only 6 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Even more important is the fact that when broken down even further, the livestock sector (not just beef) was only responsible for 2.58 percent of the total. This information was found in an article titled “Livestock’s Shrinking (U.S.) Shadow.”
While I personally doubt that food is the third leading contributor to the average U.S. household’s carbon footprint. Let us consider a couple of things. First, the U.S. ag producer is the most efficient producer of food in the world, therefore, fewer inputs are needed to produce more food. Second, if our U.S. ag producers were not as efficicient, more fragile lands such as rainforests would be consumed to produce food for a hungry world.
Finally, if I concede food is the third leading cause, I would guess it is a long way behind number 1 and 2.
While it is true most cattle consume a grain ration for several months before going to market, prior to that most of those cattle are raised on many acres of land and pasture that would not be useful for any other food production. Lean beef is a nutrient rich healthy food. If we look at the increase in population over the next several decades, we will need all of our livestock sectors just to feed this ever-increasing demand.
As a U.S. producer of livestock and grain, I must say I take great pride in being a good steward of the land and environment and I also take great pride in feeding 144 other people around the world.