Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by spfzero 1793 days ago
The points made here about land utilization are important. The conversation around soil runoff and glyphosphate needs to take precedence. Far more damage is being done to human health by industrial wheat, corn, and soy farming, than cattle grazing.
2 comments

> Far more damage is being done to human health by industrial wheat, corn, and soy farming, than cattle grazing.

But most cattle production (in the US at least) involves converting those crops to cattle with a conversion ratio that is pretty poor. You can't have a discussion about reform/reduction of monoculture crops without it necessitating a significant reduction in livestock production.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/665482/map...

You're right, standard CAFO-raised beef requires lots of corn. Grass-fed not so much.
But we can't produce anywhere near as much beef as we currently do if it is entirely grass-fed and finished. Not without an unfeasible increase in land use footprint. Hence the conversation necessitates a large reduction in livestock production regardless.
This is why biofuels are evil.