"Alan Moorman" > wrote in ·
>
> I'm not a vegetarian, but here are some thoughts:
>
> Most cattle, be they meat or milk sources, are NOT raised on
> grass. They are raised on grain which costs a LOT in terms
> of all the machinery used to plant, cultivate, and harvest
> them. Lots of petroleum burned.
===================
Actually, you're wrong. In the US all beef cattle are raised on pasture or
range. Then, only 3/4 of those are sent to feedlots. Continuing to buy
into the propaganda doesn't make any changes. Grass-fed beef is a growing
commodity, and buying it is really the only way to affect a change in the
'typical' production methods.





> Not to mention all the pesticides and fertilizer which are
> sprayed on the grains to help them grow. Some of these are
> made from petroleum, and all that factories which burn lots
> of energy to make.
>
> Likewise for most other animals we eat -- chickens, pigs,
> etc. The amount of energy expended to feed and raise
> animals for meat is incredible, and unnecessary!
>
> Eating vegetarian food eliminates COMPLETELY the vast waste
> and expense involved in raising meat animals for human
> consumption.
========================
Again, you are wrong. being vegetarian does no such thing, and in many
cases causes even more animals to die and more environmental damage. All
crop production is by definition habitat destruction and environmental
damage. There are meats that can be consumed that require almost no active
involvement of people in producing the meat. The same cannot be said for
any crop production.



>
> I still eat meat, but there are VERY good arguments for all
> of us eating vegetarian (only).
> ====================
And there are better arguments for eating a mix of veggies and certain
meats. I can replace 100s of 1000s of calories from mono-culture crop
production with the death of one grass-fed cow. The mechanized,
petro-chemical intensive crop farming is far worse to the environment, and
to more animals, than the grass-fed, chemical-free beef I eat.



> Alan
>
> ==
>
> It's not that I think stupidity should be punishable by death.
> I just think we should take the warning labels off of everything
> and let the problem take care of itself.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
>