Those already ambivalent about beef won't be surprised by
the revelations in Denis Hayes and Gail Boyer Hayes' book "Cowed: The Hidden Impact of 93 Million Cows on America's Health, Economy, Politics, Culture and Environment."
Much of what the authors say regarding the
cattle industry will sound familiar. They echo sentiments expressed by Frances
Moore Lappe ("Diet for a Small Planet"),
Eric Schlosser ("Fast Food Nation") and
Michael Pollan ("The Omnivore's Dilemma").
In this substantial volume, the Hayeses, longtime sustainability advocates, rail against the treatment of livestock in feedlots across the country. They bemoan factory farming where animals are treated "with about the same level of respect that an automobile manufacturer feels for a piece of sheet metal." They find themselves championing alternatives such as "organic foods, locally grown foods and vegetarian diets."
The Hayeses recognize from the outset the tremendous carbon footprints cows leave. Feedlot beef, for example, "produces five times more global warming per calorie" than pork or poultry. It takes 11 times more water and uses 28 times as much land.
The conditions in which cows are often raised are frightening to consider. A place "that is hell for cows is paradise for germs." Pollutants in feedlots and lagoons, where farmers store animal sewage, can "rise into the air and travel long distances on the wind," and also sink into groundwater.
Discussions on processed beef filled with "nitrates and nitrites (and sometimes nitrosamines)" and bull castration make meat consumption less than appetizing as well. The authors present a strong case here against feedlot beef, giving readers significant and serious food for thought.
(A version of this review appeared originally at Publishers Weekly.)
In this substantial volume, the Hayeses, longtime sustainability advocates, rail against the treatment of livestock in feedlots across the country. They bemoan factory farming where animals are treated "with about the same level of respect that an automobile manufacturer feels for a piece of sheet metal." They find themselves championing alternatives such as "organic foods, locally grown foods and vegetarian diets."
The Hayeses recognize from the outset the tremendous carbon footprints cows leave. Feedlot beef, for example, "produces five times more global warming per calorie" than pork or poultry. It takes 11 times more water and uses 28 times as much land.
The conditions in which cows are often raised are frightening to consider. A place "that is hell for cows is paradise for germs." Pollutants in feedlots and lagoons, where farmers store animal sewage, can "rise into the air and travel long distances on the wind," and also sink into groundwater.
Discussions on processed beef filled with "nitrates and nitrites (and sometimes nitrosamines)" and bull castration make meat consumption less than appetizing as well. The authors present a strong case here against feedlot beef, giving readers significant and serious food for thought.
(A version of this review appeared originally at Publishers Weekly.)
Posts
