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| Organic farming methods help rebuild and replace       carbon in the soil. (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. (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. (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. (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. (a decade-long study by New Zealand’s  AgResearch) Meat and dairy consumption must be reduced to significantly  minimize livestock emissions. (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.
The  system is not often technically or cost- feasible.Digester  systems are implemented usually on farms that collect large amounts of liquid  manure daily. 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 emissionsBiodiversity  lossExcessive  water, food, antibiotic and fossil fuel useAir,  water, soil pollutionUnhygienic bacteria and virus breeding  grounds 
 
  Reference 
 Crawford, J. (2009). Can Soil Choose To Sequester Carbon? Unpublished presentation on Carbon Farming & Expo. New South Wales, Australia, November 4-5th, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.fromthesoilup.com.au/15/images/stories/Oct%2009/conference_program1-2a.pdf
 Hough, A. (2010, Feb 3). Britain facing food crisis as world’s soil ‘vanishes in 60 years’. The Telegraph. Retrieved January 11, 2011 fromhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/farming/6828878/Britain-facing-food-crisis-as-worlds-soil-vanishes-in-60-years.html
 
 LaSalle, T. J. and Hepperly, P. (2008). Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution to Global Warming. Rodale Institute. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from Rodale Institute website http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/files/Rodale_Research_Paper-07_30_08.pdf
 Stehfest, E., Bouwman, L., van Vuuren, D.P., den Elzen, M.G.J., Eickhout, B. and Kabat, P. (2009, February 4). Climate benefits of changing diet. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.pbl.nl/en/publications/2009/Climate-benefits-of-changing-diet
 The Health Benefits of Tackling Climate Change. (2009). The Lancet. Retrieved January 11, 2011 fromhttp://download.thelancet.com/flatcontentassets/series/health-and-climate-change.pdf
 
 Methane Sources and Emissions (2010, June 22). U.S. EPA. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.epa.gov/methane/sources.html
 FAQ: How do animal wastes create methane emissions? (2010, October 19). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. Retrieved January 11, 2011 fromhttp://www.epa.gov/agstar/anaerobic/faq.html#q4
 
  Tieman R. (2010, January 26). Livestock: Burping cow is just part of the problem. An article on a decade-long study by New Zealand’s AgResearch. Financial Times. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bdde1dec-0a00-11df-8b23-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1EWd9Zq9e
 Meat consumption trends and environmental implications (2007). U.K. Food Ethics Council. Retrieved January 11, 2011 fromhttp://www.foodethicscouncil.org/system/files/businessforum201107.pdf
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