Meatonomics (02/24/14)

Published: March 5, 2014, 10:35 p.m.

b'Tim Koopman is a fourth-generation rancher; his family has been raising cattle on their ranch in Alameda County since 1918 and he now heads the California Cattlemen\\u2019s Association (CCA). David Robinson Simon is the author of a book that lambasts industrialized meat production. What did these two advocates from \\u201copposite sides of the steer\\u201d have to say to each other when they sat down to debate the ethical, nutritional and environmental costs of animal agriculture? Host Greg Dalton started things off on the hot-button topic of animal cruelty. According to Simon, large factory farms have lobbied heavily to eliminate anti-cruelty protections for their industry. \\u201cSo what we\\u2019ve seen the last several decades is that literally, anti-cruelty protections that once protected farm animals from abusive behavior have simply been eliminated in virtually every state in this country.\\u201d Koopman said that the demonization of his industry is based on inaccuracies; ranchers, he says, care about their animals. \\u201cIt\\u2019s disturbing for us as livestock producers to have this perception that production basically lives on the backs of animals that are abused from the time they\\u2019re born until the time they\\u2019re slaughtered.\\u201d He was quick to point out that his 200-some head of cattle are treated with respect, nurtured and allowed to roam freely. And he adds that the 3,000 members of the CCA are equally vigilant. \\u201cOur membership is very cognizant of and very aware of\\u2026 animal treatment, all the good things that go along with the nurturing of these animals. We will fight against the mistreatment of animals just as much as David or anybody else would.\\u201d Dalton next brought up the connection between livestock, methane emissions and climate change. According to the UN publication Livestock\\u2019s Long Shadow, nearly twenty percent of all greenhouse gases can be attributed to the livestock industry. Koopman challenged that figure, saying it was closer to three percent; Simon, not surprisingly, contends that the UN figures are conservative. Both men agree, however, that methane emission is a problem that needs to be addressed. Ironically, grass-fed cattle may be making things worse, not better, says Simon: \\u201cThe unfortunate result is that they produce four times as much methane as grain-fed animals and so we get this very bizarre result that organically-fed cattle are not necessarily more eco-friendly than inorganically raised animals.\\u201d One solution, says Koopman, is genetic improvement, which has led to an overall reduction in the number of cows nationwide. Fewer cows, he points out, means less gas. But there are other reasons to believe ranching is straining our resources. \\u201cIt takes on average, five times as much land to produce animal protein as it does plant protein,\\u201d says Simon. \\u201cIt takes 11 times the fossil fuels and it takes 40 times or more water to produce animal protein than plant protein\\u2026 that\\u2019s a major sustainability problem.\\u201d Koopman disagrees. With two-thirds of the land in the U.S. not farmable, he sees cattle ranching as a necessary part of global food sourcing. \\u201cWe\\u2019ve got an increasing world population with huge demand for protein as a part of their diet. And on the absence of grazing livestock and having that land available to produce food, I think we would be in a lot worse shape than we are.\\u201d David Robinson Simon, Author, Meatonomics: How the Rigged Economics of Meat and Dairy Make You Consume Too Much \\u2013 and How to Eat Better, Live Longer, and Spend Smarter Tim Koopman, President, California Cattlemen\\u2019s Association This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club of California on February 24, 2014\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'