PETA to Al Gore - meat eaters cannot be environmentalists

[MagnusTheBrewer]

PETA would be laughable if they didn't have so much money. It's just sad. Why can't they spend their money on toys for themselves or buying their own island like respectable rich wackos?

 

[CPA]

If cattle are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses, why doesn't PETA advocate eliminating the species completely. It's not like they are going to stop populating, eating and releasing gas if we stop eating them.

 

[shoegazer]

Originally posted by: CPA
If cattle are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses, why doesn't PETA advocate eliminating the species completely. It's not like they are going to stop populating, eating and releasing gas if we stop eating them.

Actually, they would largely die out if we stopped eating them or using their hide for leather. Even if there was a huge movement to stop eating beef, some people in some part of the world would continue to eat them and the factory farms would slowly shut down as demand dropped. Cows are prevalent not because they are fit for the wild, but because they are fit for human consumption.

 

[KurskKnyaz]

Breathing contributes to global warming. Peta members should stop. CO2 is a greenhouse gas

 

[kyparrish]

Oh. My. God.

I can't find the article on Drudge anymore, but I'm sure the point of it wasn't to say "Cow burps are killing the environment."

Meat Industry + Sustainability

I'm sure what was meant, before everybody started piling on to say "animals are carbon neutral, etc." was that the meat industry that feeds 300 million Americans, and others around the world lucky enough to taste meat is an energy intensive/environmentally destructive industry.

Facts:
- Energy is used to clear land, grow cow feed, operate slaughterhouses, transport the product to other markets, etc.
- The meat industry consumes over half of all water used for all purposes in the United States
- Water utilized to produce 1 pound of meat amounts to 2,500 gallons. In comparison, the water utilized to produce 1 pound of wheat amounts to 25 gallons. Also required to produce that one pound of meat: 5 pounds of grain, the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline, and 25 pounds worth of eroded topsoil.
- Meat industry waste and water runoff is NASTY (lookup Smithfield pork production).
- Feedlot beef consumes 33 calories of fossil fuel energy for every ONE calorie of food energy.

One more thing to consider: REUTERS - High feed costs, created by the explosive growth of the fuel ethanol industry, will lower U.S. beef and broiler chicken output this year by a quarter billion lbs from earlier forecasts, the U.S. government said on Friday.

Now don't get me wrong. I eat meat. I love meat. But I've also made the personal decision to start enjoying what meat I eat a little bit more, because I don't think under the current system cheap meat will be sustainable into infinity.

What PETA was TRYING to say is that this is a serious energy/environmental problem, but instead of pointing out the ultra high EROEI aspect of the meat industry, they just point fingers and said "None of you meat-eaters are true environmentalists neener neener neener."

 

[irishScott]

I think the New Zealanders had the right idea:

http://www.power-of-attorneys.com/raising_a_stink.htm

 

[spittledip]

Originally posted by: irishScott
I think the New Zealanders had the right idea:

http://www.power-of-attorneys.com/raising_a_stink.htm

Classic

 

[umbrella39]

Originally posted by: daveymark
cue anti-drudge comments in 3...2...

Cue pro-Bush fanboi warmonger in .... too late.