Sustainable Farming On Cattle Ranches : Sustainable Agriculture On Cattle Ranches

If that isn’t enough, the Amazon rainforest is being affected by beef production; four-fifths of the deforestation is due to cattle ranching (Scheer). This is because there needs to be room for the livestock to roam and crops to feed the animals. There isn’t enough space for humans and our livestock since reported by Suzanne Rice, writer for the Journal of Thought, “30 percent of the earth’s ice-free land is... involved in livestock production” (Rice 118). 30 percent doesn’t leave us with much and it is no wonder we are deforesting these rainforests. However, although cattle seems to be the most detrimental livestock factor to the environmental problem, they are not alone.

All across america, cows are confined to crowded, almost prison-like cells, with little to no regard to their health. They are forced to eat food that includes such ingredients like manure, cement, or even cow brains. This is one side of farming, but there is another. This farming has cows and other animals living how they would in nature, across rolling hills and bright green grasses. This is the essence of Local Sustainable farming. As defined in Michael Pollan’s award-winning commentary about the food we eat, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, the Local Sustainable Food Chain, one of four possible food chains, is characterized by not using pesticides, treating animals humanely, and sustainably creating healthier organic food. Out of Michael Pollan’s food chains, the Local Sustainable Food Chain is the best for America as it is much less harmful to the environment and lets animals live in their natural states.

As this is the piece of land in which the feedlot is located there are many environmental factors and possible issues that come into play. Thus far they have done well in managing their environmental impact and sustaining the land but there are a few areas that need to be address through this study.

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that Americans like their meat. In fact, America produced 93 billion pounds of meat and poultry in 2012, which included some 32 million cattle. As many of us already know, agriculture has a significant impact on our environment in a variety of ways. In order to successfully rear livestock, slaughterhouses require large quantities of water, and emit plenty of greenhouse gases – methane and CO2 specially – during production.

There are many different practises and methods available for livestock production, and ultimately it is the choices that farmers make that determines the production’s level of sustainability. The practices of industrial large-scale operations like CAFOs result in both environmental damage as well as health concerns for humans and animals. Depletion, pollution and contamination are the biggest obstacles we face when trying to move toward a more sustainable planet. But when livestock is handled responsibly, with consideration for the environment and potential consequences, it is indeed possible to produce livestock that is beneficial for our planet. Organic and grass-based farming systems such as silvopastoral systems have been proven to increase biodiversity, reverse soil erosion and counteract water depletion. By encouraging farmers to move towards more sustainable methods like these, we can help curb today’s more urgent issues regarding our environment. While there are disagreements between researchers on how to do this, they all agree that we have to take some kind of action to save our planet. Possible ways to achieve this include not consuming meat, or buying meat from local, organic and grass-based farmers to ensure the livestock was raised in a responsible way. If more consumers demanded this type of meat,

Meat production in modern conditions and scope can negatively affect the environment. Unfortunately, the entire global transportation of cars, planes, and ships allocates a large amount of interest and disposing of all greenhouse gases. Because in the world, many people who like to eat meat, countries allocate a huge swath of land to make more room for animals. Also scattered land to feed these animals. According to the article “Vegetarianism” by Ramsey. P, “Animals not confined to feedlots pose different problems for the environment. Overgrazing and disagreements about land use in the western United States have become major battleground issues between ranchers and environmentalists.” I believe that this is a big problem for our environment.

The United States harvests over 80 million acres of corn each year, or $63.9 billion worth. This is a surprising amount of corn. Even more surprising is that almost 40% of this corn is used to feed US cattle.1 But cows eat grass, don’t they? Not in the United States, where factory farms, also known as confinement farms, are status quo. The average heifer on a confinement farm weighs 1500 pounds2 - around twice as much as its New Zealand counterpart, lives half as long3 and is fed primarily on expensive (relative to grass) grain and corn. The US dairy industry is economically inefficient and environmentally unsustainable: There are too many farms in the West, where conditions are generally drier, and too few in the East, where demand for

As mentioned above, people are concerned a large amount of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide being released from the slaughter houses every day. There’s a proof that slaughtering livestock have resulted in the air pollution, water pollution, and polluted soil. “The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations recently repor1ted that livestock production is one of the major causes of the world's most pressing environmental problems, including global warming, land degradation, air and water pollution” (Finding A Scientific Connection Between Food Choices And The Environment 3). Farming and slaughtering cattle not only require a vast area and a huge amount of water, but it is also the potential contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions,

Raising livestock for animal products requires a lot of land, water, food, and energy. Further, waste water, manure, and the use of pesticides and fertilizers pollute the air, streams, rivers, and oceans. There are a number of different types of livestock that contribute to environmental degradation, and in different ways; however, beef and dairy cattle appear to be the worst perpetrators. To narrow the focus of this paper, I will examine beef and two types of environmental impacts: greenhouse gases and water usage. Before we can understand the impacts, it’s important to note something about consumption habits.

Many people have the belief that feedlots mistreat their cattle, keep them in confined spaces, feed them nothing but corn, and abuse them. Farmers and ranchers work day and night and spend large amounts of time and money to ensure that their animals are cared for in the best way possible. In the end if cattle aren’t comfortable in their environment the product they provide us with will be effected in a negative way. There is a great deal of care that goes into cattle operations from the time calves are born, till they are moved to a larger feedlot, then to a slaughterhouse, and eventually to our plates. Whether or not a person chooses to eat beef or not is completely up to them. But either way, people should know the facts about where their food comes from and have an educated opinion on why they believe the beef industry is good or bad.

This tumblr blog is an informative and intriguing announcement exposing the concealed monstrosities of a vital institution that virtually keeps the western world alive, our industrialized agriculture. This public outcry aims to be accessible to youths in particular as they enter the terrene of consumerism as a sole individual in North America. Particularly speaking, this website outlines the issue of, environmental impacts of North American cattle consumption specifically dairy farming and cow grazing.

Farmers need to make changes with their farms by supplying shade to help the cattle industry. There are several ways to provide shade for cattle wherever you have them, such as barns, trees, and shelters. Personally, there are shaded areas in every pen for our cows on the family farm. There are trees in almost every pen on our farm that the cattle can enjoy. There are also shelters that the calves can go in and stay cool and out of the sun. It is not hard to provide shade for cattle, just be sure to supply enough room for all the cattle to fit. By supplying shade, there is going to be less of a chance that the farmers lose cattle due to heat exhaustion. Heat causes the cattle to be exhausted which could cause heat strokes or dehydration. You can also supply shade from trees or barns. Trees are a great way to supply shade to cattle, while they are still able to be outside and not indoors in a feed

Factory farms supply abundant quantities of nutritious, high quality, and low-cost food for human consumption. Proponents assert factory farms are the best way to manage the ever-increasing need to feed the growing population. Frank Mitloehner of UC Davis points out in “1950, 22 million dairy cows produced 117 million tons milk, and in 2015, 9 million dairy cows produced 209 million tons of milk. (59 percent fewer cows produced 79 percent more milk than they did in 1950.) In 1970, 140 million head of cattle produced 24 million tons of beef, and in 2015, 90 million (36 percent fewer) head of cattle produce 24 million tons of beef.” Attributing continued research and advances in animal genetics, precision nutrition, as well as animal care and health as the cause.

Sustainable agriculture is the way of producing food without any harm to an environment. Sustainable agriculture defines as a way to agriculture, which concentrate on producing food in a harmless way to environment and contributes to the livelihood of communities (Keating, 2008). Sustainable agriculture combines many principles and practices that contribute to growers, farmland, economic, and environment. Moreover, sustainable agriculture is spreading around the world, but it is difficult in practice. This research paper consists the majors’ benefits from doing sustainable agriculture that are society, economic and environment that come from case studies in the United Stated and Thailand, and it also includes an examination of implementing of sustainable agriculture in China and Korea.

When it comes to factory farming it may be cheaper, but sustainable farming practices have their advantages. When it comes to our society it can make communities proud of where their food comes from and be healthier for the local community. “Pasture-based agriculture has the potential to enhance social sustainability as well, providing an alternative to large confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs)—which have been the focus of many community disputes and have been associated with health problems and decreased property values for residential neighbors.”(Conner & Oppenheim, 2008) There are also some advantages when it comes to economics. “Grazing dairy operations generally require less investment, earn greater returns, and achieve higher net income per cow and per cwt (Conner et al., 2006). Reliance on grass-based feed may also help farmers better manage risk in grain supply and potential price volatility as increasing amounts of field crops are used in bio-fuel production.” (Conner & Oppenheim, 2008) It may take time, but small to medium sustainable farms would be possible and could have economic growth for the local communities.