I had two sets of visitors to the farm today and the question of the pricing of organic goods came up again. Second to the great canard, organics cannot feed the world, it is the most common observation about our produce. That usually stops after tasting the quality and engaging on the subjects below.
As Joel Salatin so eloquently argues conventional food is mispriced. We can use any conventionally produced fruit, meat or vegetable for the purposes of this discussion but in this case lets look at feedlot or grain fed beef.
Here are the items that are not in the price that you pay for your steak (remember it is only ourselves and Greenfields who finish our beef on pasture/grass).
1. The environmental damage from the feedlot.
2. The antibiotic resistance in the human being from eating antibiotic meat.
3. The environmental damage from raising the GMO grains fed to these animals.
4. The humaneness or rather lack of it in having an animal stand in its own excrement for at least 110 days.
5. Contributing to global warming.
Before discussing in a little more detail have a look at the photo below of a feedlot in this country.
Now compare that with this picture taken last week whilst we were training our cattle to high density graze the vineyard cover crops. 200 cattle in a total of 2 hectares daily, moved twice a day versus an animal having 10 square metres to stand in for 110 days.
1. The environmental damage from the feedlot.
The waste from the feedlot is uncompostable as the antibiotics kill the microbes that would be breaking down the compost.
2. The antibiotic resistance in the human being from eating antibiotic meat.
You can choose to read anywhere you want but this is becoming a major global health issue. Don’t expect our Department of Health or of Agriculture to take any notice of this.
3. The environmental damage from raising the GMO grains fed to these animals.
Your beef eats GMO grains. South Africa is the only country in Africa that allows GMO grains and that makes us the stupidist country in Africa. The only ones who benefit from GMO grains are the companies selling glyphosate. Here is a concise update and explanation of what the problems are with GMO’s. Words such as spontaneous abortion and resistant super weeds should get you to read this article.
4. The humaneness or lack of it in having an animal stand in its own excrement for at least 110 days.
Should there be a premium for beef eating what it is designed to eat and being moved to fresh pasture at least twice daily? Or does the treatment of animals not matter as a price factor? Is it being too green to worry about these things?
5. Contributing to global warming.
Grain fed beef contributes to global warming. Admittedly not as much here as in the Americas but think about the diesel spent on preparing, growing, planting and harvesting the maize and soya and the diesel spent getting it to the silo and then to the feedlot. Compare this to high density grazing where the pastures recover to be grazed every 6 weeks. 65% of the sugars produced by the plant are stored in complex carbon chains in the ground. Carbon is removed from the atmosphere by a growing plant.
30 responses
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Willem,
Boerdery is ‘n Biologiese proses, daarom is dit soveel ouer as die Wetenskap.
Wetenskap probeer boerdery ‘n wetenskaplike proses maak.
Daar is sekere dinge wat nie meetbaar is deur die wetenskap nie.
Wetenskap kan nie die bestaan van God bewys nie – Dink jy daar is ‘n Skepper, ‘n Hemelse Vader, God ?
Wetenskap kan nie Liefde se bestaan bewys nie – so volgens wetenskap bestaan liefde glad nie. So jy kan nie jou vrou, kind, ouers, plaas, diere, beroep lief hê nie.
Wetenskap het al gebed bestudeer, en dat dit ‘n effek kan hê. Maar omdat dit nie meetbaar is nie bestaan dit nie volgens die wetenskap nie.
Ek moet jou geluk wens met jou lae mortaliteit syfers in jou voerkraal – dit is sekerlik ver onder die industrie standaard. Ek wonder hoeveel liefde en trots jy insit in jou boerdery, al is dit nie meetbaar deur die wetenskap nie, wys dit dalk in die lae verliese wat jy lei aan natuurlike dood onder jou diere.
Netso sit Angus baie passie in sy boerdery, en mens lees dit op sy blog. Hy is trots op wat hy doen en glo in wat hy doen. Net soos jy. Gaan kuier vir hom op sy plaas, ek is seker julle sal goed oor die weg kom.
Groete
Tommie
Seralini blasts GM regulatory failure
For anyone who has been left with the impression that Gilles-Eric Seralini is some kind of maverick or fringe scientist, it’s worth noting that as well as being Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Caen, France, in charge of the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, he has written over 100 scientific articles and conference papers for international specialist symposiums.
He has also been an appointed member of two French government commissions on GMOs – the Biomolecular Engineering Commission (CGB – Commission du Genie Biomoleculaire) which oversees risk assessment, on which he served for nine years, and the Biovigilance Committee looking at commercialised GMOs, on which he served for ten years. In 2003 he was appointed an expert advisor on GM to the European Commission in the context of its WTO dispute. And in 2008, Prof. Seralini was made a Knight of the French Order of Merit in recognition of his scientific research.
http://nous.depolluer.free.fr/gilles-eric-seralini-cv.html
However, since the time that he began to voice serious concerns about GM, and about the quality of GM, food and pesticide regulation, he has come under sustained personal attack, particularly after his research exposing problems in this area was published in the peer reviewed literature.
In January 2011 he won a libel case against Marc Fellous, head of the French Association of Plant Biotechnology and the former Chair of the CGB on which Seralini served, but the defamatory attacks have continued, and have reached a new pitch following the publication of his most recent paper.
While serving as a regulator, Seralini saw GM regulatory decisions being pushed through independently of the full CGB by Fellous, who unlike Seralini has not published any research in international scientific journals relating to plant genetics, plant biotechnology, or food safety in regards to farm GMOs.
http://www.criigen.org/SiteFr//images/stories/answertomonsanto_052010.pdf
Seralini also points out that while Fellous and his associates, and bodies like EFSA, launch well-publicised attacks on his peer reviewed studies, their own opinions are not published in international peer-reviewed journals and are not therefore scrutinized with the same rigour, which limits their scientific validity.
Here’s an English translation of Seralini’s recent comments on the abject failure of the regulatory system to undertake rigorous testing, provide transparency or protect the public:
“GMOs and pesticides, food additives (aspartame …) artificial colours, preservatives, chemicals are not tested on humans in clinical trials. What counts for market approval is mammalian blood analysis during lab tests on animals (rats mostly).
These are industrial secrets which become state secrets jealously guarded by the Rapporteur State Member (RMS) alloted the task of evaluation. This means experts like Marc Fellous and Gérard Pascal (Cf. their full credentials in this week’s Canard Enchaîné) who are the ones deciding what constitutes proof of safety back in August 2003 for the NK603 corn at the Agriculture Ministry, and giving it the green light by writing to the European Commission.
They do this without going through the CGB (Biomolecular Engineering Commission) which they should have done, as explained in my books Ces OGM qui changent le Monde (These GMOs changing the World) and Tous Cobayes! (We’re all guinea pigs!).
It’s the same story for every product, with different experts, or the same, doubtless the same for the absence of testing for unheated meat and bone meal, when the preparatory method was altered.
It’s absolutely vital to publish the blood test results of rats exposed to glyphosate or Roundup or pesticides. There are 50 different side effects compared to the control group acknowledged by Monsanto (covering themselves legally) and underestimated by Monsanto, disregarded by GP and MF or others at EFSA for the NK 603.
In most other instances worldwide it’s not even necessary to complete these tests to get market approval. For 50 years these have been inadmissible and unlawful industrial secrets (health and environmental effects must be made public, the tests on rats are the only ones which count in the two risk assessment studies).”
We need [to gain access to] these tests by tackling the Commissions, but especially the Agriculture Minister and the European Commissioner for Agriculture. If the whole chain is transparent, we change society and in particular we free ourselves progressively from GMOs and pesticides. It’s your call.
Willem,
I thinks this mans academic and scientific record speaks loader than words. Somebody you can listen to. Listen to his warnings about the failure and manupulation of science to benifit company profit and not human health.
Dear Tommie
Yes I am very proud of the product our family produces . If you do a little research you will find pictures of our cattle in the feedlot as well as the feed they eat . We have never sold our beef as organic and our name is on the packaging the beef is sold in .Please visit the feedlot association web page for futher industry information .
Systemic antibiotics are used to treat sick cattle as per animal welfare best practice . All cattle treated with antibiotics are taken to a hospital system where they recover before taken back to their “home” pen . All cattle treated with antibiotics have to complete a withdrawel period ( as mandated by law ) before they may be harvested for human consumption .
Out of every 1000 cattle we receive 5 will die before harvesting .Main causes of death include : pneumonia , tick borne disease and diarrhoea . Compare this to South Africas infant mortality rate of 50 per 1000 births if I remember correctly ?
I am not negative to Angus and his free range beef : it is another production system which is just fine . What I am negative about is when Angus made statements such as we feed chicken litter and meat to our cattle which are totally untrue . There have been futher misleading/incorrect statements made on this blog by various people and I simply cannot let that stand because as they say when a lie is repeated enough it becomes the truth .
As to starting my own blog : My philosophy about individual blogs is that they communicate interessting daily experiences and could be fun to read . Bussiness blogs on the other hand I see as tools for self serving propaghanda . Who believes them anyway ?
As to eating what the cattle eat . I eat whole corn on the cob from the same field their corn comes from . The maize porridge I eat is from the sam e maize by product they eat . The soya in the food I eat is also included in their diet . The wheat in the bread I eat is the same as the wheat co products they eat etc.
My children get sick because other parents send sick children to school . Do you want to argue that vegetarian children do not get sick when sent to these same schools ? Maybe they are the hosts for the bacteria . LOL .
Your articles are more popular press than science based . You use the term scientist very loosly . Please find out how to reference scientific articles and make sure your source is broadly accepted as reputable in the scientific community .
As to homeopathic medecine . Is that labelled with the manufacturers name and address , compliance certificate number , chemical analysis , etc ?
Willem,
Jou kommentaar ” What I have come to experience though is that a pre-school is an absolute haven for bacteria and the spread of disease . I do therefore declare that God never intended for children to go to pre school and that they are places where evil lurkes and mutates to destroy the very soul and fabric of our society ! ”
Het jou kinders dalk gereeld siek geraak dat jy so daarop reageer? Is dit nie omdat hulle immuunstelsel swak is a.g.v. oormatige blootstelling aan anti-biotika nie ?
Hoe meer antibiotika gebruik word, hoe minder is die effektiewiteit.
Ek sien jy skiet nie die artiukels en die inhoud van die artiukels af nie. Kyk egter hoe raak dit jou en jou kinders se omgewing – en ja die skool is een van die plekke waar jy die effek gaan sien van oormatige blootstelling aan antibiotika.
Die voorskoolse stelsel in nie verkeerd nie, die oormatige aanwending van antibiotika is ‘n probleem.
Een van die dae sal jy ‘n homeopaat moet besoek om ‘n oplossing te kry vir siekte probleme aangesien antibiotika nie meer gaan werk nie.
Willem,
Hoekom begin jy nie ‘n Blog en stel jou saak soos wat Farmer Angus sy saak stel nie ?
Jy kan mos die publiek en verbuiker opvoed in die metodes wat julle gebruik.
Jy gaan dalk meer uitrig as om negatief te reageer op Farmer Angus se vrylopende boerdery metodes.
Hoekom is jy sensitief oor kritiek op die Voerkraal industrie? Maak die waarheid dalk seer ?
Stel jou saak en plaas alle voerkraal metodes en medikasie en aanvulling beskikbaar aan die publiek sodat mens weet wat in die produksie van vleis gaan.
Vir elke 1000 beeste wat julle voer, hoeveel vrek, en wat is die redes vir die vrektes?
Is daar ‘n moontlikheid dat die vrektes in voerkrale dalk te doen het met die kos wat hulle gevoer word ?
Aangesien beeste met ‘n verhoogte mielie dieet gevoer word, buite hulle natuur. – Sal jy op die selfde dieet gaan om te bewys dit is veilig vir ‘n mens?
Willem,
Die vleis wat julle produseer op voerkraal basis, is jy trots op die produk ?
As jy Genetiese geproduseerde mielies vir jou diere voer, sal dit ‘n probleem wees om die vleis te “Brand” te “Label” dat dit met GMO produkte gevoer is ? As jy glo in die kwaliteits en die kwaliteit van jou metodes van boerdery, dan kan jy dit mos “Label” sodat mense kan sien jy is trots op jou produk. Dit sal my ook in staat stel om ‘n keuse te maak, of ek jou produk wil koop of ‘n organiese geproduseerde produk te wil koop. Vrye mark en demokraties.
As jy nie daarvoor kans sien nie, Gee redes daarvoor ?
Ek dink mense moet ‘n keuse kan uit oefen om te kies watse boerdery praktyke en voeding skema geondersteun word.
Dit is waarvoor ek steun sal soek. Gee ons as verbruiker die keuse.
Ek daag jou uit om ‘n lys van medikasie en aanvulling wat julle op voerkraal beeste te gebruik beskikbaar te stel. Gee ook die rede gebruik aan. Wat is vir gesondheid en watter produkte word vir vinnige gewig toename gebruik. Meld ook die persentasie GMO produkte wat julle gebruik. Hoeveel Soja en mielies is GMO produkte?
Dink jy jou produk is van goeie kwalitiet? Sal jy adverteer of wil wys hoe dit geproduseer word byvoorbeeld jou produkte te ” Label”