Friendly opinion - I think it is wrong to conclude that livestock farming is inherently bad for animals and the environment.
Cow methane as a component of AGW is very over stated. Emissions have been extremely heavily researched by IPCC and ALL of agriculture is rated as contributing to about 15% of global greenhouse gases of human cause[1]. Methane from cows, rice and many other sources is included and weighted in that measurement for its intensity and halflife but is commonly misinterpreted in articles about the subject.
There are serious welfare problems with over-intense and callous livestock farming. But the life of domesticated livestock is not inherently traumatic. Many farmers take pride in the manner they keep their stock which are domesticated to be as content as can be living under humans.
The act of slaughter is morally problematic for sure, but the stress of this one event can be minimised. Livestock can be shielded from awareness and don't consider such things the way humans can. Predation in nature involves running herds of prey to panic and exhaustion, and no less than frenzied violence. Farms animals could well appreciate in ways a less challenging existence.
In order to tackle the huge amount of animal cruelty present in modern farming, I think it is important to respect that many animal farmers are not actually cruel and that livestock farming does not necessarily mistreat animals.
Indeed, but having heard it once, I found it rather mortifying to hear a milk cow mourn its calf for days on end after the latter got taken away from it. This is about animal welfare more than CO2 emissions. Lab-grown meat and related products can't come fast enough.
Cow methane as a component of AGW is very over stated. Emissions have been extremely heavily researched by IPCC and ALL of agriculture is rated as contributing to about 15% of global greenhouse gases of human cause[1]. Methane from cows, rice and many other sources is included and weighted in that measurement for its intensity and halflife but is commonly misinterpreted in articles about the subject.
There are serious welfare problems with over-intense and callous livestock farming. But the life of domesticated livestock is not inherently traumatic. Many farmers take pride in the manner they keep their stock which are domesticated to be as content as can be living under humans.
The act of slaughter is morally problematic for sure, but the stress of this one event can be minimised. Livestock can be shielded from awareness and don't consider such things the way humans can. Predation in nature involves running herds of prey to panic and exhaustion, and no less than frenzied violence. Farms animals could well appreciate in ways a less challenging existence.
In order to tackle the huge amount of animal cruelty present in modern farming, I think it is important to respect that many animal farmers are not actually cruel and that livestock farming does not necessarily mistreat animals.
[1] http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/Breakdown-of-GHG-Emissions-by...