This is a lot to unpack, but I’ll do my best in case it helps someone understand theses issues better:
My beef also isn’t genetically modified to survive glyphosate, which gets absorbed by the soy that gets turned into your tofu
Glyphosate is bad, and should be banned. That said, beef is not somehow immune to glyphosate, as it is a contaminant in much of the food sources cattle eat, and the food for our food is not as strictly regulated as our food. Source Additionally:
Much of the glyphosate found in food is found in grains, which are often served as accompaniment to a primary protein (e.g., meat or plant proteins). Swapping a beef burger for a veggie burger (or, your tofu straw man), likely does little to reduce overall glyphosate exposure, which would be coming from the bun. Using plant glyphosate levels as a negative for going vegan is deceptive at best.
Glyphosate is not allowed in organic farming, so buying organic foods, including plant based protein alternatives, like organic tofu, dramatically reduces exposure to glyphosates. The system isn’t perfect but has been shown to quickly and effectively reduce glyphosate levels. Source
While “there is currently no consensus among the scientific community, and there is controversy over the safety of glyphosate and its health consequences” Source, there are studies showing correlation with negative health outcomes, so someone playing it safe may want to avoid these chemicals out of an abundance of caution. THAT SAID, there is a significant body of evidence that consuming red meat is linked to increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and premature death. Source. Another Source. If you’re avoiding “tofu” for your health, you’re not doing yourself any favors.
If industrial farms would sell the manure and spread it on fields rather than blanket them with petrolchemicals (fertilizers) this entire argument would be completely moot.
No. Manure is only a small part of the issue. Much of the methane produced by cattle comes from digestion, not excrement. Additionally, much of the carbon footprint of cattle is a result of land use change, specifically deforestation and other land use change. None of this is solved by spreading shit around. (And its unclear from your comment but just in case it needs to be said, fertilizers and glyphosate are unrelated, but I think you know that, it was just unclear)
We need to return to traditional farming where the cattle can graze and naturally fertilize the land instead of being confined and mainly fed corn (which exacerbates the spread of ecoli).
The concept of regenerative farming is thrown around a lot as a justification for eating beef. First of all, its not happening, so stop using a pretend what if to justify bad behavior.
Secondly, a cow can graze the food it needs off of ~2 acres of (highly productive) land per head. Source.
To meet today’s meat demand, there’s ~1.5 billion cows on the planet. If you were to give each cow 2 acres, that would take 3 billion acres of land, or 1.5x the land area of the continental US. This would be a logistical nightmare in addition to all of the other challenges that come with this land grab. There’s no scenario where we maintain current meat consumption levels sustainably.
At some point people are going to have to put down the steak and gasp eat some tofu.
Traditional farming can also reverse desertification of land therefore can reduce the CO2 footprint of this industry.
No beef required for this one. Though it is worth noting much of the desertification is directly a result of clearing land for cattle and their feed.
Also get mad at the military and they are the top contributors of CO2 emissions and they have 0 restrictions and are omitted from every study.
This is a lot to unpack, but I’ll do my best in case it helps someone understand theses issues better:
Glyphosate is bad, and should be banned. That said, beef is not somehow immune to glyphosate, as it is a contaminant in much of the food sources cattle eat, and the food for our food is not as strictly regulated as our food. Source Additionally:
Much of the glyphosate found in food is found in grains, which are often served as accompaniment to a primary protein (e.g., meat or plant proteins). Swapping a beef burger for a veggie burger (or, your tofu straw man), likely does little to reduce overall glyphosate exposure, which would be coming from the bun. Using plant glyphosate levels as a negative for going vegan is deceptive at best.
Glyphosate is not allowed in organic farming, so buying organic foods, including plant based protein alternatives, like organic tofu, dramatically reduces exposure to glyphosates. The system isn’t perfect but has been shown to quickly and effectively reduce glyphosate levels. Source
While “there is currently no consensus among the scientific community, and there is controversy over the safety of glyphosate and its health consequences” Source, there are studies showing correlation with negative health outcomes, so someone playing it safe may want to avoid these chemicals out of an abundance of caution. THAT SAID, there is a significant body of evidence that consuming red meat is linked to increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and premature death. Source. Another Source. If you’re avoiding “tofu” for your health, you’re not doing yourself any favors.
No. Manure is only a small part of the issue. Much of the methane produced by cattle comes from digestion, not excrement. Additionally, much of the carbon footprint of cattle is a result of land use change, specifically deforestation and other land use change. None of this is solved by spreading shit around. (And its unclear from your comment but just in case it needs to be said, fertilizers and glyphosate are unrelated, but I think you know that, it was just unclear)
The concept of regenerative farming is thrown around a lot as a justification for eating beef. First of all, its not happening, so stop using a pretend what if to justify bad behavior.
Secondly, a cow can graze the food it needs off of ~2 acres of (highly productive) land per head. Source.
To meet today’s meat demand, there’s ~1.5 billion cows on the planet. If you were to give each cow 2 acres, that would take 3 billion acres of land, or 1.5x the land area of the continental US. This would be a logistical nightmare in addition to all of the other challenges that come with this land grab. There’s no scenario where we maintain current meat consumption levels sustainably.
At some point people are going to have to put down the steak and gasp eat some tofu.
No beef required for this one. Though it is worth noting much of the desertification is directly a result of clearing land for cattle and their feed.
Agreed!