Telling Your Story
It was about a year ago when I decided to record my observations in a side-by-side taste test between the real deal and an Impossible Burger served up by a popular fast-food chain. The imitation wasn't horrible, and after everyone tried it, there was only a small bite or two left for the dog.
But as a meat eater, I prefer authentic over the make-believe. The anti-meat group is loud and strong, arguing in a debate that they truly do not understand.
One sentiment the anti-meat crowd brandish is their belief that land used to raise livestock feed could all transition to producing food for humans. Intuitively, we in the farm community see the flaws in that thought process, but sometimes it's hard to gather a sound argument against their contention.
We know there is not a lot of direct competition between land resources for the produce complex versus the livestock complex. Soil type, prevailing climate, plant hardiness zones are parts of the equation that can't be ignored. You just don't grow avocados in Michigan or Indiana. It's not going to work, at least not on any scale. And a lower return crop such as wheat isn't going to replace a high value crop like seed corn grown on rich prairie soils. It would be like renting out your summer cottage on Lake Michigan (not that I have a cottage on any body of water except an occasional mud puddle) for $50 a week during peak summer season. The economics don't equate.
Another bullet point in the argument is that even if you have the right soils and infrastructure such as irrigation, you don't just decide one day to raise a large acreage of pickles, for instance. You must be able to access a market, which requires a contract, and if you aren't already in that space, contracts are not easy if impossible to obtain.
Attending Great Lakes Dairy Expo a few weeks ago, I listened to Sara Place speak on the net zero carbon commitment much of the dairy industry embraces. Included in her presentation was some interesting data regarding land use. She said that about 96 percent of feed that goes into all ruminants in the world including cattle, buffalo, sheep and goats is not competing for human food resources. The feed ruminants consumed is not what humans can consume. Those of us around ag get it, but it isn't intuitive with the average consumer.
Globally on average, cattle use .6 pounds of edible protein to make one pound of edible protein, returning more than they use to create protein. "In terms of dairy, that cow is producing three or more pounds of high-quality protein daily, and even if she is eating some protein that potentially is human edible, she is returning more, and that is the power of the rumen," Place said.
Did I even mention highly erodible land? You know, the steep hillside that should remain in permanent cover with pasture or hay? They are not the place for a vegetable crop. Orchard crop, maybe. Vegetables, no.
Let's talk labor. Let's say we could just suddenly switch from growing traditional corn harvested for livestock feed as grain or forage, and turn that land into apples, asparagus, cabbage, blueberries, tomatoes, potatoes and more. In 2018, that would have amounted to more than 88 million acres of corn. Exactly who is going to provide the labor to harvest that much produce when there are produce fields left unharvested for lack of workers?
Think about the byproducts from many produce processing operations. Beet, orange, apple, and walnut peelings or pulp wind up in, you guessed it—total mixed rations for ruminants. Land and livestock have an amazing symbiosis. They need each other!
Next time you hear the argument of all the land wasted in raising feed for livestock, realize it is a total reality miss. Hopefully, today's rumination will give you some bullet points in refuting the big land lie.
Bev Berens is a mom to 4-H and FFA members in Michigan. Do you have a story to share? Email her at uphillfarm494@yahoo.com.