APES Unit 5.7 - Meat Production Methods

CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) — aka feedlots

pros: meat is cheap, animals are ready quickly

cons: crowded, animals fed grains, or “feed,” not grass, generate large amounts of waste that can contaminate ground water and runoff into bodies of water

Free-Range Grazing

pros: animals eat grass, animal meat is free of antibiotics, waste acts as fertilizer

cons: requires lots of land, meat is more expensive

What does Overgrazing Lead to?

soil erosion and desertification

Lowering Meat Consumption

reduces CO2, methane, and N2O emission, conserves water, reduce uise of antibiotics and growth hormones, improves topsoil

Soil Compaction

when soil is pressed down tightly resulting in the removal of air pockets; therefore not allowing water to penetrate or for plants to grow

Desertification

the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of a drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture

Nomadic Grazing

feeding herds of animals by moving them to seasonally production feeding grounds, often over long distances