{OT} gas emissions

Isn't that a hoot?

...and the simple solution?

Plant a tree.

If the KooKs are really worried about the 'rain forests'....they should buy them....

These kooks are groping, hoping to find a palatable fairy tail that everyone will believe and al gore can run with.

This is a good example of how old news can be rediscovered and presented as new news. (Not that I'm saying the news shouldn't be presented; but we should keep our ears open better, to catch it the first time around. Eg, global warming, which was being discussed by (eg) SF in the 60s.)

As far back as the 70s, "New Scientist" magazine (which presents serious scientific developments for the non-specialist reader, a bit like "Scientific American") ran an article on what bad news cows are for places like Africa. They trample the ground with clunky hooves, mashing its surface and young plants. Their way of eating tends to tear out the whole of grass if it's young.

Gas emissions we've also heard about, though anything that eats plants seems set to make methane. There's now a trend to ferment cow manure, with other vegetable waste, to make methane -- which then gets burned to make electricity (or just hot water). This was being promoted in India, at local level, in the 70s; it also helped with fuel shortages for cooking. Left-over solid matter has value as fertiliser.

The NS article pointed out that native African species were much better at using the available grazing. Each tends to graze at a different level: one nibbles tips of young grass; another chomps the older blades; another eats the drier stuff. Etc. And those native species are a d*mn sight more efficient at converting food into meat than cattle, which evolved in more verdant environments and didn't need to conserve resources so carefully. Antelope is healthier to eat -- though first you've got to catch the things.

-- Andrew Stephenson

Buy Grass Fed Beef and Lamb!:

bout Lasater Grasslands Beef

Unadulterated Purity:

Our cattle are raised without antibiotics, pesticides, hormones, growth

implants, animal by-products, or steroids.

Fat Content and Omega-3 Fatty Acids:

The vast majority of beef eaten in America today is grain fed, finished

in feedlots. Grass-fed beef is lower in fat and calories, and higher in

important vitamins such as beta-carotene and vitamin E, than beef finished on grain. Research has shown that grass-fed beef can lower cholesterol levels. In addition, grass-fed beef has 2-6 times more of the good fat called omega-3 fatty acids. These essential fats play an important role in many of the body's vital systems. For more information on the nutritional qualities of grass-fed beef, visit

and look at "The Nutritional Benefits of Grass-fed Animal Products."

With LGB you know exactly where your beef comes from and the complete history of the animal:

Most of the "natural" and "organic" beef one buys in a supermarket is grain-fed in feedlots, comes from animals that are from many different parts of the country, and is processed at large slaughter plants. LGB is different. All of our beef comes from the Lasater Ranch and from our

collaborators; all of whom have embraced our cattle raising philosophy.

Lasater Grasslands Beef products are processed at small family-owned USDA-inspected plants.

Room to Roam:

Our cattle have never been confined to a feedlot, they spend their entire lives grazing grass pastures. Our cattle are harvesting a naturally-renewable resource: the grasses of the Great Plains.

Quality beef takes time:

Dry-aging beef was standard until about 20 years ago, when other, quicker processes took its place. Although it is a more costly process,

for centuries, in Europe, dry-aging has been the standard of excellence

for meat and game. This process produces extremely tender beef. Our dry-aged beef is hung for 14-21 days in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. The beef's enzymes break down and tenderize the

meat, giving it a signature flavor. This time-consuming process gives our grassfed beef its unique flavor and ensures maximum tenderness.

Tenderness:

Lasater Grasslands Beef is a tender product, though tenderness will vary depending on how it is cooked. You will not be able to cut it with

a fork. Because our beef is leaner than corn fed beef, care needs to be

taken not to overcook it. Our briskets and roasts, because they have little marbling, need to be cooked at high temperatures to break down the weave of the meat. The ranch is at 6,000 feet above sea level. We cook a 3-to-4 pound roast at 400 for 30 minutes and at 300 for 30 minutes for medium. Lasater Grasslands Beef cooks up to 50% faster than

corn fed beef. If cooked to medium-well or well our beef will occasionally be tougher than generic beef. As these animals are raised in their natural environment and are healthy, it is safe to eat LGB rare to medium rare.

Thirteen Mile Lamb and Wool Company brings you certified organic products made from our flock of sheep in southwestern Montana. Tender lamb meat, grass fed beef, along with sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, scarves, blankets, sheepskins, yarn and handspinners fleeces are the things you can buy, but you are sharing in much more when you do so. For pictures and news about what is happening at the farm, look at news.

At Thirteen Mile Farm we raise sheep without using chemical fertilizers

and herbicides on our fields, and the sheep grow on grass, clover and alfalfa, and a little organic barley with no antibiotics or hormone supplements. Our lamb is certified organic by the Montana State Department of Agriculture. The livestock are fenced out of the creeks to protect both local wildlife habitat and the quality of the sheeps' drinking water. Our principal protection against native predators are our guard llamas and our own vigilance; because we have chosen not to use lethal control methods against coyotes, bears, wolves, mountain lions, our ranch is certified as "predator friendly". It is a choice which, like many of our land management decisions, acknowledges risk in

the interest of learning how to coexist with native species while caring for the land.

Our lambs are butchered at a local USDA-inspected facility; our sweaters and hats are made by Montana women on home knitting machines; and we make our own buttons from old juniper wood fenceposts scavenged on our homestead and other Montana ranches.

A full-service, small-scale natural fiber processing mill is now operating at Thirteen Mile Lamb & Wool Company. We are processing our own wool, and we are doing custom processing for other fiber producers---washing, picking, carding, pin-drafting, felting and semi-worsted spinning. We can produce roving or batts directly off the carder, pin-drafted sliver, felt, or yarns.

Welcome to lambandwool.com and find out more about our products and how

to order them, about the PF certification, and answers to frequently asked questions about sheep ranching and our business.

I can see the PETA nuts comin' out of the woodwork as we speak. Save the world, eat your veggies. I'm surprised our good friend Little Richard, AKA dick, has not spoken out already LOL

mike

As far as global warming gases go,. in 1989 methane was responsible for about 16% of their global warming, while CO2 contributed 50%, this despite each molecule of CH4 having the global warming potential of roughly 20 CO2 molecules:

Since the previous link I provided must be paid for now here is another site that has the same exact story:

A 400-page report by the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation also surveys the damage done by sheep, chickens, pigs and goats, but in almost every case, the world's cattle are most to blame.

Livestock are responsible for 18% of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming -- more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together.

Burning fuel to produce fertiliser to grow feed, to produce meat and to transport it -- and clearing vegetation for grazing -- produces 9% of all emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas. And cows' wind and manure contain more than a third of emissions of another, methane, which warms the world 20 times faster than carbon dioxide.

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How do you explain the UN's own report that points out livestock is responsible for more greenhouse gases than humankind combined?

Plant a tree... 'problem' solved....

Being serious: the tropical rain forests & their deforestation.

Cathy

I am VERY serious....

If the jungles are a problem to you....get together some money and buy the things.

Very simple.

Stop bitching and do something about the 'problem'....

Forget the damn jungle, think about our own hardwood forests here in the U.S.

Why not both?

Cathy

Why the "damn jungle"? Those jungles take in one helluva a lot of CO2, & give off one helluva lot of oxygen. Not to mention the flora & fauna of the tropical rain forests that provide us humans w/ medicines galore. Nevermind the simple deal of appreciating the wonder of it all. And only a portion (potentially small portion) of the species which reside there have been ID-ed; we don't know how much of a true potential the jungles hold. Well worth preserving, for the benefits of all, IMO.

Cathy

, think about our own hardwood forests here in the

Our hardwood forests give off more Co2. We need to protect them from criminals like truckdude and his reckless use of the chainsaw.

Because we have no control over the savages and their need for firewood. Besides, growth in the jungle is much faster than in the Northern climates.