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[Sparrow]

A new report says that to achieve being carbon neutral by 2050, we will have to give up red meat and flying almost completely.

Can't see that happening. 

[CLKD]

So farmers will go out of business then; substitutes are grown in tropical climes so trees will be felled in order to make room for fields which will cause run off which will silt rivers .......... who thinks this go meat free idea through 

It goes against HS2 - where acres++ of ancient forest will be cut down which will release gases stored for years as well as ruining a whole eco structure millions of years old.  Where's Greta when you want her  and as humans fart  2050 is really hopeful.  Concrete takes energy which has to be produced somewhere for building all those houses the UK apparently requires ..........

[Jari]

I think a huge problem is that so much land is used just to grow the food to feed the cattle.

I watched a really good documentary called Meat - a threat to our planet with Liz Bonnin. I found it a real eye opener and definitely worth watching. If you have bbc I player, you can look it up or on YouTube maybe. X

[CLKD]

I however don't know why Liz Bonnin put herself out there with this particular documentary.

Most of the land used to grow food for cattle would grow what otherwise?  That'll be grass and hay then 

[Jari]

I watched it some time ago, but I think one of the main points is that the number of cows that humans are eating has risen hugely in the last decades.

Forests are being cut down in order to create more land to grow the food to feed the cows for humans to eat. So, I think the point was, if we stop eating cows, then there would not be a need to keep cutting down the forrests.

[Sparrow]

That's a real problem in places like the Amazon.  Here though, not so much I think.

Now that farmers are going to lose the EU farm subsidy I think (may be wrong) that the new scheme which will pay farmers for 're-wilding'.  That sounds like a good idea.

[CLKD]

Do we eat cows ............ cows are for milking, surely.  Beef cattle and bullocks ?

Where are we cutting down forests, not in the UK?  How much of that beef grown on deforested areas is imported to the UK? 

The same as forests cut down for palm oil etc., killing urang utans  .  And pineapples: HUGE areas were deforested 2 centuries ago in order to provide Europeans with the fruits ..........

I remember the programme but was watching something else at the time.  Usually I enjoy the programmes that Liz is involved in but gave that one a miss.


HUGE areas of forests will be cut down for HS2.  But that's OK.  Apparently 

[Countrygirl]

Around me are fields and woodlands as far as the eye can see and over the years I've seen diseased trees cut down and new trees replaced. Also n the last 10 years hedgerows have all been reinstated and a set aside round the edges of the fields where wild flowers grow x

[Sparrow]

That's brilliant.

My husband has volunteered for our local Wildlife Trust, for a number of years.  There is a lot going on now, I think.

[Jari]

It is really good news if we are taking care of our land in the U.K. 

For global climate change, which affects us all, the cutting down of major parts of the Amazon is disastrous for us all. Most of the (culinary term) beef that is eaten in the U.K. is imported.

Cattle is the plural term.
Cows is the common term I think, but cattle raised for human consumption is called beef cattle and cattle bred for milk are called dairy cattle.

The term bull, cow and calf are used to denote the sex or age.

After a dairy cow can not be bred anymore for milk production it can be minced into beef or used in pet food.

A young female cow before having a calf is called a heifer.

Little bit of Tuesday morning info. x

[Jari]

Totally agree. That is great your husband is doing this Shadyglade.

I walk regularly and just can not believe the amount of rubbish people still throw out of their cars. I try to pick up as much as possible, but it is very disheartening that so many people have such little respect for the planet and wildlife, despite the efforts in documentaries etc. X

[CLKD]

Tnx  .  I used to be found in the pen with the Hereford bull - reading to him  .  They were always named Thomas.  I was four 

The rubbish across the UK makes me ashamed to be English  .  When ever we get travellers staying locally they get the blame but in reality they don't habit round supermarkets, bus stops, schools ...........

Farmers got Grants for reinstating hedgerows ;-).  I planted out against our fence 15+ years ago: the spindle didn't like it there so were moved.  1 of the 3 hawthorn shrubs is now 20 feet high and spikey  .  There is a thornless blackberry wandering through the hawthorn, a mallow, clematis, hop and jasmine 'clotted cream'.  At the base are winter flowering cyclamen, hellebores and snowdrops for early insects.

[sheila99]

It's a pity that programme didn't give a balanced view. Applied to the amazon it's absolutely right. Applied to the UK it's completely wrong and shows a biased view. Our farm is typical of many. They grew corn on 10 acres of it in the war but the yield on this land is so low there's no profit. It is used productively for beef and sheep. If you eat spring born UK  lamb it's raised entirely on grass and has the smallest impact of any meat (and they have a good life). Beef cattle need some corn to finish but again most of what they eat is grass. We're not destroying our environment except by building houses on all our best land and hs2 which will just turm Birmingham into a suburb of London.
It's ridiculous to equate British raised meat to air travel. We all know planes should be controlled and the additional co2 from fossil fuels stays in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. Methane from cows breaks down in around 10 years so as long you don't eat more meat the amount of methane stays the same
https://climatefeedback.org/claimreview/claim-about-climate-impacts-of-cows-vs-cars-needs-a-little-explanation-financial-times/
Whereas if you eat imported almonds and avocado's you're adding to it.
The UK is about 60% self sufficient in food. Our children and grandchildren will still need to eat so wiping out our farmers is about as short sighted as you can get.

[CLKD]

Tnx sheila ......... well put.  I took for granted food produce when I lived in the Fens.  Now I return and think how hard farming is and the long hours which are put into producing for little return.

[Jari]

Sheila99. Your link says that cows have a worse effect on the planet than cars in the short term but cars in the long term.

In my opinion, both are very bad therefore and change is coming whether you like it or not.

Future generations won't even exist if they can no longer breathe.. just sayin!