APES 5.7 Meat Production Methods

Enduring Understanding:

  • When humans use natural resources, they alter natural systems.

Learning Objective:

  • Identify different methods of meat production.
  • Describe the benefits and drawbacks of different methods of meat production.

Essential Knowledge:

  • Methods of meat production include concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), also called feedlots, and free-range grazing.
  • Meat production is less efficient than agriculture; it takes approximately 20 times more land to produce the same amount of calories from meat as from plants.
  • Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFOs) are used as a way to quickly get livestock ready for slaughter.  They tend to be crowded, and animals are fed grains or feed that are not a suitable as grass.  Additionally, feedlots generate a large amount of organic waste, which can contaminate ground and surface water.  The use of feedlots are less expensive than other methods, which can keep costs to consumers down.
  • Free range grazing allows animals to graze on grass during their entire lifecycle.  Meat from free range animals tend to be free from antibiotics and other chemicals used in feedlots.  Organic waste from these animals acts as fertilizer.  Free range grazing requires large areas of land and the meat produced is more expensive for consumers.
  • Overgrazing occurs when too many animals feed on a particular area of land.  Overgrazing causes loss of vegetation, which leads to soil erosion.
  • Overgrazing can cause desertification.  Desertification is the degradation of low precipitation regions toward being increasingly arid until they become deserts.
  • Less consumption of meat could reduce CO2, methane, and N2O emissions; conserve water; reduce the use of antibiotics and growth hormones; and improve topsoil.

Meat Production

  • Overconsumption of meat is an issue for the developed world
    • As countries develop, they tend to consume more meat
    • This can also relate to culture, religion, wealth, accessibility, etc.
  • Eating meat is not a good or bad thing, but we should acknowledge that the unsustainable demand for meat is what’s driving a lot of the processes detailed below
  • There is a ton of money in livestock.
    • People pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for good lineages to be injected into their stock.
  • Animal products’ price rises more than other goods do in the face of inflation.
    • Even with inflation, people are still buying meat.
    • This trend is not going down despite raising prices.

Complications

  • It takes a very large amount of land to raise livestock
    • 25% of the world’s land is used for livestock
  • Antibiotics and growth hormones are used in intensive meat production, which introduces chemicals not normally present in the meat
  • The soil can becomes compacted under the herd/flock
  • Meat uses 20 times more land than growing crops
  • The water for livestock is both the water used to raise them and the water used to grow their food
  • Since livestock is another trophic level up, you’re only getting 10% of the calories as you would eating the same amount of plants
  • Meat production needs exorbitantly more water than agriculture
    • Beef takes almost 15 times as much water as it weight in beans
  • Overgrazing can occur when too many animals feed on one area of land
    • This can lead to soil erosion when all of the vegetation is gone
    • It can then cause desertification

Waste

  • The animal waste also needs to be dealt with
    • Cows, notably, release a ton of methane
  • When the waste runs into bodies of water, turbidity can be increased
    • With that comes a decrease in aquatic primary productivity
    • Decrease in albedo
  • Increase in water temperature
    • Decrease in dissolved oxygen (DO) levels
  • Increase in organic matter/nutrient load
    • Increase in decomposition by aerobic bacteria
    • Decrease in DO levels
    • Eutrophication
  • Can end up in drinking water
    • Animal waste has fecal coliforms, or diseases, that are very dangerous to us

Methods

  • Meat production is the raising of cattle, chickens, turkey, pigs, sheep, goats, or any other livestock for consumption by humans

Free-Range

  • Livestock is allowed to graze or eat what they naturally would

  • (Usually) No preventative antibiotics used

  • Produce good-quality meat that is slow and expensive

  • Free range has certain advantages

    • The animals can graze their entire lifetime
    • Meat from free ranges tend to be free from antibiotics and other chemicals
    • Organic waste from these operations works as fertilizers

  • It also has some problems

    • Overgrazing can occur with this method
    • Remember all the problems that occur with exposed topsoil
    • Desertification may even occur
    • Lots of land has to be used
    • This both adds to the price and uses up land that could be used for other purposes

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO)

  • Intensive operations where many animals are in a small space being fed high-calorie food
    • The goal is for them to grow as fast as possible to get to market
  • Produce lower-quality meat but quickly and affordably
  • CAFOs are used a quick way to get livestock ready for slaughter.
    • They tend to be crowded, and animals are fed feed that is not a fit substitute for grass
    • They also generate a lot of organic waste
    • The use of feedlots is less expensive than other methods, which can keep costs down for customers
  • There are ethical concerns
    • These animals are not allowed to move for much of their life
    • They stand in one place or in a small pen until food appears
    • Biological processes like mother-child bonding never occurs
  • Most dietary choices come from health concerns, but it can also be about the environment and animal treatment

Improving our Consumption

  • Less consumption of meat can reduce CO2, methane, and N2O outputs, conserve water, and improve topsoil.
    • Note that the animals themselves do not contribute much to emissions, but all of the industry around agribusiness does output many pollutants.
  • Nowadays, there are tons of alternatives to meat.
    • It is less expensive and more sustainable for more of the population to eat vegan.
    • Lab grown meat is another alternative. It has been around a long time but many are suspicious and technology is not quite industry level yet.
  • The estimate is that 50% of conventional meat consumption will be replaced with alternatives by 2040.