I didn't watch it as the trailer for it with the constantly trembling lower lip were enough to put me off. There are certainly problems with pollution, but there is no simple solution. If meat consumption ceased there would clearly be a massive increase in crops required, and I very much doubt there is currently sufficient quality land for arable production. The solution? Chop down more trees to create arable land, flood that land with fertiliser to maximise production. The runoff then pollutes the rivers and onwards to the sea. But that presumably would be a price worth paying to get rid of meat - not to me it's not.
When somebody comes up with a fully rounded solution I may change my eating habits, but not before.
@KT53: the programme was more nuanced than perhaps the trailer suggested. There was nothing to say we should collectively give up meat - but a better balance could, perhaps, be struck. At the moment, a lot of vegetable protein from beans carries a high carbon footprint from the plants being grown in the far-flung reaches of the world. Flooding the land with fertiliser is, the programme suggested, a by-product of animal husbandry, and it causes vast amounts of pollution in rivers and ultimately in the seas, as anyone who has witnessed the algae blooms off our coasts (many in the South West) will attest. You are quite right - a fully rounded solution is needed. There is no simple answer. For example, reduction in methane from cattle can be brought about by feeding them a seaweed supplement. The long-term effects of harvesting the seaweed have yet to be evaluated. We cannot give up animal farming totally, but we can, perhaps, modify the means of production to the benefit of animals, humans and the environment.
Applying manure from intensively reared cattle to the land can, in some cases, result in run off and pollution. Naturally grazing animals ‘fertilize as they go’ and this is naturally incorporated into the pasture (worms, beetles etc) and will not swamp the land.
It has also been proved that grass fed cattle give off much less methane than corn fed ones .... grass, not grain, is the natural diet of ruminants.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Moderation in all things is the answer, but unfortunately not attainable. Never will people of any country give up what they have, what they want, or perceive they need. They won't produce less, whether that be population, food or things. They won't be satisfied buying what is available locally and doing without the rest. A person can be sensible, people are greedy. The bigger the group, whether it is corporations, religions or political the worse it gets. Unfortunately I won't live long enough to see any of this change, if it ever does.
For example, reduction in methane from cattle can be brought about by feeding them a seaweed supplement. The long-term effects of harvesting the seaweed have yet to be evaluated.
I think it was also on Countryfile that they had a piece with a farmer who creates his own biochar and feeds that to his cattle. That apparently has also greatly reduced the amount of methane they produce. The added bonus being that the biochar passes through pretty much intact after doing it's internal job and still adds nutrient to the fields.
I'm just sick of people getting on their soap boxes and preaching at us. Yes change is needed but it's far more likely to be achieved if the hearts and minds are won over by reasoned argument, not by some kid or celeb telling us what to do whilst doing something totally different themselves.
What do I eat as I have nut allergies and am dairy intolerant, dont eat pulses or lentils ( gastric problem) if I didn't eat some meat it would be a VERY boring diet.
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At the moment, a lot of vegetable protein from beans carries a high carbon footprint from the plants being grown in the far-flung reaches of the world.
Flooding the land with fertiliser is, the programme suggested, a by-product of animal husbandry, and it causes vast amounts of pollution in rivers and ultimately in the seas, as anyone who has witnessed the algae blooms off our coasts (many in the South West) will attest.
You are quite right - a fully rounded solution is needed. There is no simple answer. For example, reduction in methane from cattle can be brought about by feeding them a seaweed supplement. The long-term effects of harvesting the seaweed have yet to be evaluated.
We cannot give up animal farming totally, but we can, perhaps, modify the means of production to the benefit of animals, humans and the environment.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
They won't produce less, whether that be population, food or things. They won't be satisfied buying what is available locally and doing without the rest.
A person can be sensible, people are greedy. The bigger the group, whether it is corporations, religions or political the worse it gets.
Unfortunately I won't live long enough to see any of this change, if it ever does.