Lot of things probably
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@sun They are literally calculating all the rain that falls in a field as "water required to proceed beef". Without the cows, the water still falls and lands on the ground.
@ned that counts for the same reason that states regulate rain barrels
Does anything improve if you remove said cows from the field? The rain still falls, the water still seeps into the ground. Shitlibs are still retarded.
@BroDrillard @ned yes, a million cows affect the environment
@sun @BroDrillard @ned both positively and (if you buy the carbon pollution frame) negatively. several billion humans also effect the environment. several trillion algae do, too.
@jeremiah @BroDrillard @ned @sun
at the rate it is used, fresh water is a non-renewable resource. land vertebrate biomass today is at ~7 times what it was naturally before human intervention (i.e. prior to global megafaunal extinction), and, to achieve that, aquifers globally are being drained more quickly than precipitation can refill them. it's not possible to just feed cows on grass in a field. you have to pump water and dig things from the ground to feed crops (alfalfa, soy, ...) for them
using water this way, you're taking the fraction of rainfall that was already absorbed and pumping it back to the surface for another chance to evaporate or run off. and the percentage that is absorbed takes nitrates (either from fertiliser directly or from animal poops) along with it, poisoning the aquifer and killing people who drink from it
the current number of humans on the planet is unsustainable, just humans alone outmass those historical megafauna, but the problem is made far worse by feeding them inefficiently, and eating vertebrates is one of the least efficient methods there is. designating more than 3/4 of all crops grown globally to growing baby animals into adults, with them all the while radiating energy away as heat, is just stupid when humans could eat those crops directly instead
at the rate it is used, fresh water is a non-renewable resource. land vertebrate biomass today is at ~7 times what it was naturally before human intervention (i.e. prior to global megafaunal extinction), and, to achieve that, aquifers globally are being drained more quickly than precipitation can refill them. it's not possible to just feed cows on grass in a field. you have to pump water and dig things from the ground to feed crops (alfalfa, soy, ...) for them
using water this way, you're taking the fraction of rainfall that was already absorbed and pumping it back to the surface for another chance to evaporate or run off. and the percentage that is absorbed takes nitrates (either from fertiliser directly or from animal poops) along with it, poisoning the aquifer and killing people who drink from it
the current number of humans on the planet is unsustainable, just humans alone outmass those historical megafauna, but the problem is made far worse by feeding them inefficiently, and eating vertebrates is one of the least efficient methods there is. designating more than 3/4 of all crops grown globally to growing baby animals into adults, with them all the while radiating energy away as heat, is just stupid when humans could eat those crops directly instead
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