Craft

Phoebe Craft

RC 1000

Kane

11/8/19

The Beef and Dairy Industry

Do you live sustainably? Sustainability can be defined as a process that is able to be

maintained or continued while avoiding the depletion of natural resources (Sustainability). There

are productions across the world that are soon to deplete our natural resources and make them

limited, because of how wasteful they can be. One of the biggest productions is the beef and

dairy industry, and it is a big problem. The industry is a very insufficient process and wastes

precious resources, specifically water, food, and energy. Living more sustainably is the best

solution to fixing this problematic industry, and that includes trying a new vegan diet, using

energy-efficient sources for electricity, and saving water by doing the most simplest tasks. The

beef and dairy industry is one of the most wasteful productions in the world, but there are ways

for it to become more efficient by changing to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Raising cows for beef and milk require time and money, along with limited resources

such as food, water, and land. A single cow requires two acres of land for grazing, and the more

cows a farm owns, the more trees needing to be cut down. To put this into perspective, every

minute, 40 football fields are being cut down, and 3.5 to seven billion trees are cut down every

year. About 28% of those trees are cut down for agricultural expansion, which can include

anything from crops to cattle (Rainforest). In this industry, there are two types of cows: dry cow

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and milking cow. Dry cows are the males that graze in pastures and provide the beef in your

hamburger. Milking cows are the females that rarely spend time in the pastures, and instead are

housed indoors. Their living situations vary at different farms, but they can range from sheds

with or without outdoor yards or caged up (About Dairy). Though sheds may seem more ideal,

cages are more popular, especially at the bigger industries.

Dry and milking cows are different in their living situation, but they also differ by how

much and what they consume, and the process between both beef and dairy products. Dry cows

drink about 30 gallons of water a day, and a milking cow requires double that amount (How

Much Water). This does not include the water needed for feed. Dry and milking cows eat the

same feed which consists of barley, corn, oats, wheat, rice, and many different oils and minerals,

which will be specified later. Dry cows also eat dry feed, which includes grass from the pastures;

the milking cows do not have access to the outdoors, so they rely on hay. The cows eat up to 3%

of their body mass everyday, which is about 24 pounds of grazing and feed a day, with a dry cow

having a feed to beef ratio of 3:1 (Rodgers). This proves that a cow consumes more feed than

beef they produce.

To grow an average 1200 pound cow for beef takes 3600 pounds of feed and about

220,000 gallons of water (the amount of water does not include the water needed to grow the

products in the feed). Although, only 490 pounds out of the 1200 pounds is the edible beef we

see in stores and restaurants. The other 790 pounds of the carcass is turned into different

resources: the hide becomes leather, and the bones, fat, and intestines are processed into items

such as soap, fertilizer, pet food, and some pharmaceuticals (Rodgers), which all are very useful

items that we use almost everyday.

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The dairy process uses more resources than beef. A gallon of milk requires 880 gallons of

water, or 60 gallons for one cup of milk, and that includes the bottling and processing. The

average milking cow produces 7.5 gallons of milk a day, which is 6,600 gallons of water,

resulting in just 120 glasses of milk (About Dairy). Just 1.2 gallons of milk produces one pound

of cheese, which requires 600 gallons of water to make. That pound of cheese serves eight

people in terms of serving size (Hallock). The dairy cows can only produce milk after giving

birth to a calf, which is at two years old, and once they stop producing milk, she is bred again

and this continues until she dies or ready to retire. The calves on the other hand, are separated

from their mothers. Depending on the gender, will either be in a cage or a pasture for the rest of

their life (Farm), which is so inhumane

Livestock related processes consume 34 trillion gallons of water a year, just in the US

alone, yet we still continue to ignore this issue (Andersen). This process is one of the leading

causes for ocean dead zones because of the amount of water they use. Dead zones are the

complete depletion of water in an environment or area, which is caused by a decrease in recharge

and increase in discharge in the water source. For example, taking water out of a well.

Eventually, water fills back up, but if you take too much out in a short amount of time, the water

cannot fill up to the original amount. If this continues, the well will dry up because no more

water is left to recharge the source. Dead zones can kill off habitats and species in that

environment and deplete limited resources. This proves that the industry is an issue for other

environments and species. The industry is not talked about enough and how it affects our planet

needs to be recognized. There are so many ways we can change ourselves to sustainable, and

there are also ways the industry can change.

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Beef and dairy is a nationwide industry that cannot be stopped, but they can be changed

to a more sustainable production. Energy-efficiency is a sustainable alternative to regular power

sources like lightbulbs or electricity from outlets, which most beef and dairy industries use.

Energy-efficiency means using less energy from a sufficient source to produce the same task as

those inefficient sources (Piccirilli), and there are many alternatives to choose from.

Some of the more popular farm-related sources include solar energy, wind energy, and

biomass. Solar energy is collecting sun rays and transferring that heat into electricity. It is the

most popular alternative. Wind energy comes from wind turbines that stand 400 feet tall, and

produce kinetic energy through the wind that can be converted into usable electricity. Biomass is

the most farm-related source, and involves burning plant material, biomass, and releases heat that

can be converted into heat or fuel (What You Need). The biggest difference between these

energy sources are the cost and effectiveness. The average cost for a solar panel can range

between $1 to $9 per watt. The effectiveness varies on how many watts are purchased, but even

if the sun does not shine, they still produce energy. A 1-kilowatt wind turbine costs $7,000 to be

installed, and a 100-kilowatt turbine costs $80,000, but all vary at different elevations. The prices

are high but the effectiveness is much greater than solar panels (Residential). Biomass, on the

other hand, is free, but is not as effective as solar or wind. Plants do not have much stored energy

because most of it goes towards photosynthesis, but it is a great expense-free substitute.

These are definitely great alternatives to the insufficient energy we use today, and have a

variety of cost and effectiveness. Local farms should be encouraged more to invest into them,

because it would really boost the industry towards a more sustainable direction.

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In the industry, almost all parts of a cow are being recycled and reused to make other

products, and that is a very sustainable and effective process. In terms of the healthy lives of

cows and the quality of their beef, most local farms that own livestock are grass-fed and

cage-free. Recently, it has been shown that the nutrients in beef can vary depending on what they

are being fed. Since beef is such a mass production in the U.S., cows are mostly grain-fed (an

unnatural diet), whereas cattle on Australia farms are commonly grass-fed. So, is grain-fed beef

bad for your health? Aside from the crops and produce in the grain feed, antibiotics and

hormones are mixed in to maximize cow growth and beef quality. Consuming these drugs is very

unnatural for both cows and people, but it is not bad for your health. Grass-fed beef is a better

option though, because it is more natural, contains more high-quality protein, and is a

high-concentrated source of nutrients (Gunnars). Grass-fed beef is very common at local farms,

but are more expensive than grain-fed. The price is worth the quality of the beef, but it may be

more convenient to buy grain-fed at the common grocery store. When shopping for cheese or

hamburger meat, local farms should be your first option and the big industries should be your

last.

There are other alternatives to being more sustainable with this industry, and that includes

going vegan. A vegan diet is defined as someone who does not consume any animal products

and that includes wool, eggs, meat, dairy etc. Veganism has many great benefits and can

positively affect your body inside and out. This diet can improve kidney function, provides richer

nutrients, prevents heart disease and high blood sugar, and reduces exterior body fat. This is

because, technically, humans are not supposed to consume meat, especially red meat (Petre). Red

meat is extremely difficult to break down and causes stress to our digestive system (that includes

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teeth, stomach, and intestines). Dairy is also a product that should not be consumed for many

reasons. Humans are the only primate that consume milk after infantry, and the only animal that

consumes milk from another animal. That is why most people are lactose intolerant; their body

knows it is something not meant to be consumed and rejects it. In fact, 65% of the world’s

population have a hard time digesting dairy because of the enzymes in it that make you bloated

(Harvey-Jenner), mostly because milk should not be consumed.

Veganism is a very expensive diet and the produce is not available to everyone,

especially the poor. Poor people rely on cheap food and fast food, because they are more

concerned about their money rather than what salad they should eat for lunch. Vegan dieting is

not available to everyone, but I think those who have access to vegan produce should try it and

experiment with different food choices. I am not vegan so I cannot promote something I am not

part of, but this is definitely a diet that I want to slowly get into. I encourage that more people do

as well.

Living sustainably is very important today because resources are becoming limited and

our planet is dying. Although changing your diet can be effective, it is not available to everyone,

but there are more ways you can live sustainably in the simplest way. Doing small tasks like

turning off the water while brushing your teeth, reusing clothing by shopping at thrift stores

(clothing requires gallons of water to make, and jeans is the biggest culprit), recycling plastic,

paper, and cans, and watching your trash production all make an impact. Not many people

realize how big of a problem this industry is, and the documentary, “Cowspiracy,” explains that

in a much bigger picture. Going sustainable is the best impact you can make on our planet for

now and we all need to start making adjustments; even the smallest changes can make an impact.

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Works Cited

“About Dairy Cows.” ​Compassion in World Farming,​

www.ciwf.com/farmed-animals/cows/dairy-cows/​.

Andersen, Kip, and Keegan Kuhn. ​Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret​. , 2014

“Farm Sanctuary.” ​Farm Sanctuary​, ​www.farmsanctuary.org/learn/factory-farming/dairy/​.

Gunnars, Kris. “Grass-Fed vs. Grain-Fed - What's the Difference?” ​Healthline​, 7 May 2018,

www.healthline.com/nutrition/grass-fed-vs-grain-fed-beef.

Hallock, Betty. “To Make a Burger, First You Need 660 Gallons of Water ...” ​Los Angeles

Times,​

Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2014,

www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-gallons-of-water-to-make-a-burger-20140124-sto

ry.html​.

Harvey-Jenner, Catriona. “10 Things That Can Happen to Your Body When You Give up

Dairy.”

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Cosmopolitan,​ Cosmopolitan, 15 Aug. 2019,

www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/diet-nutrition/a19406488/giving-up-dairy-effect-on-bod

y/.

“How Much Water Do Cows Drink.” ​UNL Beef,​ beef.unl.edu/amountwatercowsdrink.

Petre, Alina. “6 Science-Based Health Benefits of Eating Vegan.” ​Healthline,​ 23 Sept. 2016,

www.healthline.com/nutrition/vegan-diet-benefits#section1.

Piccirilli Dorsey, Inc. “Energy Efficiency.” ​EESI​,

www.eesi.org/topics/energy-efficiency/description.

Rainforest Action Network. “How Many Trees Are Cut down Every Year? - The Understory.”

Rainforest Action Network​, 15 Aug. 2018,

www.ran.org/the-understory/how_many_trees_are_cut_down_every_year/​.

“Residential Solar and Wind Systems: What Are the Energy Costs?” ​Direct Energy,​

www.directenergy.com/learning-center/green-living/residential-solar-and-wind-systems.

Rodgers, Diana, et al. “How Much Feed Does It Take To Produce a Pound of Beef?” ​Sustainable

Dish,​ 12 May 2019, sustainabledish.com/much-feed-take-produce-pound-beef/.

"Sustainability, n." ​OED Online,​ Oxford University Press, September 2019,

www.oed.com/view/Entry/299890. Accessed 5 November 2019.

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“What You Need to Know About Alternative Energy Sources.” ​Save On Energy Blog,​ 7 May

2019,

www.saveonenergy.com/learning-center/post/what-you-need-to-know-about-alternative-e

nergy-sources/