11/12/08 Best for environment

Which beef or milk production system could be better for the environment? I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back in one minute with some arguments and thoughts. Which is better for the environment conventionally or organically raised beef or milk? By now we all know organically produced products are not grown with commercial fertilizers, pesticides, or hormones and antibiotics, if it is an animal product. But just to set the record straight, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that doesn't make these products any safer or healthier than conventionally raised products. Now you might argue, organic products are better for the environment. Well, according to an article in Drovers magazine by Greg Henderson, here is another way of looking at that argument. Organic dairy cows produce about eight percent less milk than cows in a conventional dairy, which means it takes more cows to produce the same amount of milk. So this means more bovine emissions and we do know what bad actors environmentalists say cow emissions are. Also organically raised beef cattle take longer to reach slaughter weight, which means more time to emit methane, plus grass fed cattle produce about twice as much methane than cattle on grain diets. Personally, I wouldn't worry about which milk or beef products systems is best for the environment, just enjoy those great products. After all there are millions of wildlife in all nations on the earth emitting methane, its all fact part of our environment. Maybe they are supposed to produce methane. I'm Jeff Keane. Drovers October 15, 2008