- Organic farming methods help rebuild and replace carbon in the soil.1,2 (A study presented by Professor John Crawford at the recent Carbon Farming Conference held in New South Wales, Australia)
- If all tillable land were turned into organic vegetable farmland, not only would people be fully fed, but up to 40% of all the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could be absorbed. This is in addition to the elimination of over 50% of emissions caused by livestock raising.3 (Rodale Institute, 2008)
- Land used for meat production could also be returned to its natural state, which in turn helps quickly absorb vast quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere.4 (Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency)
- Changes in farming practices, such as greater efficiency in livestock farming methods and better manure management, are not sufficient to meet the UK’s 2030 goals for greenhouse-gas emissions. A reduction in meat and dairy production and consumption would more effectively mitigate global warming while improving public health and saving lives.5 (The Health Benefits of Tackling Climate Change.The Lancet, 2009)
- Livestock emission reduction plans, such as providing different food sources for animals and using manure for fuel, have been found to reduce emissions only by a few percent and in fact could create more food quality and ethics problems.8 (a decade-long study by New Zealand’s AgResearch) Meat and dairy consumption must be reduced to significantly minimize livestock emissions.9 (UK Food Ethics Council Executive Director Tom MacMillan)
- METHANE CAPTURE for energy an inadequate plan.
- The proposal to capture methane from livestock manure in factory farms is wholly insufficient, because:
- Most of the methane is from enteric fermentation - over three times the amount from manure.6
- The system is not often technically or cost- feasible.
- Digester systems are implemented usually on farms that collect large amounts of liquid manure daily. 7
- The many serious environmental problems caused by factory farms are still unaddressed, and more than negate any benefit from methane capture.
- Global warming / Greenhouse gas emissions
- Biodiversity loss
- Excessive water, food, antibiotic and fossil fuel use
- Air, water, soil pollution
- Unhygienic bacteria and virus breeding grounds
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