… coming to you from the public relations people who brought you “Clean coal”. {{ LOL }}
Tyson Foods’ “climate-friendly” beef could land in a meat aisle near you. Don’t fall for it. - Vox
intercst
3 Likes
So what are all the people that care about this going to do with the Deer and Elk that are running all over the place? This should be fun, The PETA folks fighting with the ECO folks, who will win?
Andy
I’m pretty sure that deer and elk are a small fraction of the domesticated beef and dairy cattle population. This reference says 1.5 Billion cattle to 45 million deer worldwide.
I’m a big beef eater myself, but I hope we eventually get some kind of lab grown meat to address the problem, despite right-wing objections. Our food scientists are talented enough to make all kinds of crap taste like filet mignon.
intercst
2 Likes
There are over 25 million deer alone in the United States and 28 million beef cattle, but 87.2 million cattle all together. There are 1 million elk so you are right. I don’t have a problem with lab grown meat but everything I have tasted so far I wouldn’t want to eat. Besides if I am going to eat fake meat shouldn’t it be better for me also?
Andy
I’m sure the fake veggie burger meat is healthier for you, and like I said, the food scientists can make it taste like anything you like – even cotton candy.
intercst
Don’t forget humans who belch and fart!
The Captain
2 Likes
What is needed is better numbers. For example, the article notes:
“What’s the benchmark? Nobody knows. A 2019 study by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association found that the average American steer emits 21.3 kilograms of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions per kilogram of carcass weight. But in 2021, the USDA approved a low-carbon beef program (unrelated to Tyson) that uses a benchmark nearly 25 percent higher than the 2019 study…”
In addition, the article starts with the statement that “One species accounts for around 10 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions: the cow.”
The IPCC tells us that methane is only 11% of GHG emissions.
Of that 11 percent, 40% is from agriculture (including 8% from rice cultivation). So, that leads to
11% x 0.32 = 3.5%
DB2
2 Likes
In related news…
Sweetgreen’s stock soars as analysts welcome nationwide rollout of steak dishes
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstocks/sweetgreen-s-stock-soars-as-analysts-welcome-nationwide-rollout-of-steak-dishes/ar-BB1maaNh
Sweetgreen’s stock soared 20% premarket Friday after the fast-casual restaurant chain’s first-quarter earnings gained praise from analysts who highlighted the nationwide rollout of steak dinners this week.
Salad chain says a cleaner farming method will offset adding steak to its menu
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/salad-chain-says-a-cleaner-farming-method-will-offset-adding-steak-to-its-menu-what-is-it/ar-BB1m7DL8
Sweetgreen’s rationale for the controversial caramelized, garlic-flavored steak menu addition this week includes using regenerative farming. The chain also says carbon offsets are part of its pledge…
DB2
1 Like
From an engineering standpoint, carbon source reduction is always preferable to buying a carbon offset.
I noticed that a Swiss company has made a big investment in Iceland to capitalize on the “carbon offset madness”.
Note that the annual 4,000 tonne capacity of the plant is about half the carbon Taylor Swift’s private jet emits in a year.
intercst
Especially since most of the offset programs are “junk or worthless”.
– A total of 39 of the top 50 emission offset projects, or 78% of them, were categorised as likely junk or worthless…
– Eight others (16%) look problematic…
– The efficacy of the remaining three projects (6%) could not be determined definitively…
DB2
And in Australia…
Low methane beef pattie experiment pulled from most Grill’d burger stores
https://www.beefcentral.com/news/low-methane-beef-pattie-experiment-pulled-from-most-grilld-burger-stores/
Burger chain Grill’d has abandoned its low-methane beef option in most of its stores across Australia, after only limited interest from customers in paying an extra dollar for a burger pattie carrying a low methane claim.
Instead, the company is now trying as different approach, stocking its ‘Gamechanger’ beef pattie option in just seven stores, where it will be sold exclusively. The $1 surcharge will be dropped…
Grilld’s Gamechanger was launched in January last year using beef “from cattle that produce up to two-thirds fewer methane emissions than regular cattle.”
DB2
2 Likes
Was the beef more expensive to produce, or was the company charging an extra dollar to fluff up it’s margin by leveraging a “green” marketing claim?
Steve
The article said that sourcing for the methane-altered beef was limited which increased the price. By limiting the product to just five stores the supply-demand is more balanced.
DB2
There have been studies on changing diet to reduce methane from cattle. As i recall feeding kelp from the ocean helped. More research could make progress.
Also beef in a tank could become more practical. Buying up ranch land and putting beef producers out of business may also be in the works. Beef becomes more rare, more expensive, more of a luxury.
Didn’t the luminaries in Florida outlaw that sort of beef? “Must protect entrenched interests”
Whoever produces it cheapest wins.
Andy
Also…
Startup raises $26.5 million for vaccine to stop cow farts and burps
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/10/arkeabio-cow-emissions-bill-gates
ArkeaBio, a Boston developer of a vaccine to reduce livestock methane emissions, raised a $26.5 million in venture capital funding led by an investment fund founded by Bill Gates.
DB2
1 Like
Is that an Onion article lol
Andy
Not unlike the laws that would not allow dyes in margarine. Had to be white. Dye in separate capsule and had to be mixed in when you opened the package.
Eventually all this will get sorted out. Stay tuned.
Changing the microbial composition in the stomach is going to be difficult as it’s a very competitive environment.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/interactive/2024/cows-methane-emissions-gene-editing-microbiome/?itid=mr_climate_1
Using tools that snip and transfer DNA, researchers plan to genetically engineer microbes in the cow stomach to eliminate those emissions…
Adding seaweed, oregano, or garlic to cow diets can cut methane emissions, sometimes by up to 80%. But only about 1 in 10 cattle in the United States — largely those producing milk — are fed every day by humans. The ratio is similar globally. The rest, mostly beef cattle, range free on pastures, surviving on grass and forage. Getting those billions of free-ranging cattle to eat seaweed or garlic is logistically almost impossible…
Using gene editing tools, researchers have already bred cattle without horns or with special slick coats that help them stay cool amid rising temperatures…
CRISPR — clustered interspaced short palindromic repeats — is a set of DNA sequences found in bacteria and archaea. When combined with an enzyme known as Cas9, CRISPR can be used like a guided pair of scissors: slicing and dicing pieces of DNA before replacing them with new segments.
DB2
1 Like