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Food News- Fruit and Tree Nuts OutlookProvides current intelligence and forecasts the effects of changing conditions in the U.S. fruit and tree nuts sector. Topics include production, consumption, shipments, prices received, and more. Released by 4 p.m. ET. Subscribe to the free electronic version to receive timely notification of newsletter (and yearbook) availability. Users who subscribe to th […]
- Federal FundsThis product contains information from the Census Bureau's Consolidated Federal Funds Reports on Federal expenditures and obligations for grants, salaries and wages, procurements, direct payments, direct loans, guaranteed loans, and insurance obtained from Federal Government agencies. ERS screens the data for each Federal program for accuracy at the cou […]
- Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 2010 EditionMost U.S. farms—98 percent in 2007—are family operations, and even the largest farms are predominantly family run. Large-scale family farms and nonfamily farms account for 12 percent of U.S farms but 84 percent of the value of production. In contrast, small family farms make up most of the U.S. farm count but produce a modest share of farm output. Small […]
- Monthly Milk Cost of ProductionMonthly milk cost of production estimates are available by State from January 2006 to the previous month. […]
- America’s Diverse Family Farms, 2010 EditionAmerican farms vary widely in size and other characteristics, but farming is still an industry of family businesses. Ninety-eight percent of farms are family farms, and they account for 82 percent of farm production. Small family farms make up most of the U.S. farm count and hold the majority of farm assets, but they produce a modest share of U.S. farm outpu […]
- Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook
- What Everyone Should Know About Energy
- How much of the world's electricity supply is generated from wind and who are the leading generators?Worldwide wind power generation exceeded 200 billion kilowatthours in 2008, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of over 18 million average households in the United States. Wind generation increased by about 25% from 2007 to 2008, and has more than tripled since 2003. […]
- How much of our electricity is generated from renewable sources?Americans used renewable energy sources — water (hydroelectric), geothermal, wind, sun (solar), and biomass — to meet about 7% of our total energy needs in 2008. […]
- What are greenhouse gases and how much are emitted by the United States?Greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun and warm the planet's surface. Of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, 87% are related to energy consumption. Since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions in the United States have grown by about 1% per year. In 2005, about 21% of the world's total energy-related carbon dioxide was emitted by the United States. […]
- How much of the world's electricity supply is generated from wind and who are the leading generators?
- Invasive Species
- Minnesota -- Zebra Mussels Found in Lake Minnetonka July 29, 2010Zebra Mussels Found in Lake Minnetonka (Jul 28, 2010) Minnesota... […]
- NOAA Awards $2.5 Million for Research on Invasive Species in the Great Lakes (Jul 23, 2010) July 29, 2010NOAA Awards $2.5 Million for Research on Invasive Species in... […]
- Minnesota -- Zebra Mussels Found in Lake Minnetonka July 29, 2010
Holy Cow! (The Poop On Poop)
An Overview of Eating Meat
Once I was talking to some farmers, and they made a joke about how many bushels of corn a person eats in a day. At first, I did not understand. I thought to myself, “Maybe I eat an ear of corn a day on average.” So, I prodded them further about what they meant.
“Hogs love corn, and it is their major food. One of the old ways of harvesting corn was to hog it, that is to let hogs in a field of ripe corn to help themselves.” — J. B. Calvert, University Of Denver
It takes about nine bushels of corn to bring a hog to market.
A cow eats 25 pounds of corn a day.
For every pound of beef you avoid, you also save 3,000 to 5,000 gallons of water.
A bushel of corn weighs 56 pounds. One bushel of corn converts to about 5.6 pounds of retail beef, 13 pounds of retail pork, 28 pounds of catfish, or 32 pounds of chicken.
Eating ocean bred fish is not a good solution, either. Not only does commercial fishing contribute to global warming, overfishing has caused severe damage to our ecosystem. Besides, pollution has made many fish toxic for humans to eat.
“Certain carnivorous fish such as shark, barracuda, gar and grouper can concentrate heavy metals such as mercury in their flesh. This can be very harmful to humans.” — U.S. Army Medical Department, Office of the Surgeon General
“Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.” “Another commonly eaten fish, albacore (“white”) tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna.” — 2004 EPA and FDA Advice For: Women Who Might Become Pregnant, Women Who are Pregnant, Nursing Mothers, Young Children,
Global Warming and Eating Meat
Greenhouse Gases Emitted by Humans to Produce Meat
Operating farm equipment, such as tractors, irrigation pumps, grain elevators and climate control of animal shelters emits a huge amount of CO2 into the atmosphere. Fertilizer is also a major contributor to global warming. The transportation of meat to market is another factor adding to the problem. Cold storage refrigeration has had multiple negative impacts on the environment. Freon is thought to be the main cause of the ozone hole (see The Ozone Know Zone.) The energy needed to keep meat from spoiling is also significant.
In 2008, an average cow took 284 gallons of oil to bring to market. Holy cow!
Greenhouse Gases Emitted by Livestock
If that’s not enough to give you indigestion, consider the gas that comes out of a pig. I’m not talking about a human that burps, and you call a pig. I mean animal flatulence. Sheep and hogs give off a lot of gas. Cows spend much of there lives burping. New Zealand and other countries have imposed taxes on animal flatulence. Holy crap!
No. I haven’t even started talking crap, yet. Here’s the poop on crap. Chicken sh#*! Chicken manure produces a crap load of methane. Methane is a leading greenhouse gas.
“Animal manure is a source of methane gas produced through anaerobic digestion. A variety of policy instruments could be used to implement this greenhouse gas mitigation program.” — Manure Management, Climate Change What You Can Do, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
All kidding aside, we have a serious problem. Meat is an important part of a human’s diet. However, eating less meat and changing the way we produce meat could do a lot of good for the environment.