Latest / CattleUSA Daily / 83: Debunking the Water Footprint Myth and Defending Beef’s Role in Sustainability

Transcript

83: Debunking the Water Footprint Myth and Defending Beef’s Role in Sustainability · CattleUSA Daily

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  Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
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  the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the
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  updates shaping agriculture today.
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  I'm your host Lauren Moylan, a passionate advocate for
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  agriculture, here to keep you informed and connected.
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  Now let's dive into today's episode.
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  Welcome to another episode of the Cattle USA Daily Podcast.
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  Today we are bringing back another episode for you guys
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  where we are going to be debunking some anti AG claims.
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  Again, I've got 2 for you guys today that are very relevant and
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  kind of again, building off of some topics that we've maybe
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  already discussed a little bit going into another branch of
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  detail, whatever that may be. But I am ready to just go ahead
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  and dive right into these with you guys.
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  We're not wasting any time today.
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  And foremost, claim number one, the water footprint of beef is
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  too high. This is something that we hear a
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  lot when it comes to sustainability for beef.
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  And it is so important that when we are discussing all of these
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  that we understand why we're discussing this today, right?
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  Because the fact of the matter is if we have an informed
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  producer population, we then can start to have an informed
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  consumer population. If us as producers, if we are
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  not sitting here being able to say these facts and be informed
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  ourselves, how can we anticipate and expect our consumers to be
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  informed if we don't even know the facts ourselves?
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  So claim number one, going back to that, the water footprint is
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  too high of beef. So where does this claim come
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  from? There is a viral infographic
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  that claims that it takes 1800 gallons of water to produce 1 LB
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  of beef. Actually, even if you Google how
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  many gallons of water does it take to produce 1 LB of beef,
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  this is the first thing that pops up.
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  You will see that infographic immediately and the AI like just
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  little blip that it gives you at the beginning.
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  Now with Google, AI will say that it takes 1800 gallons of
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  water to Bruce, 1 LB of beef and then it gives that infographic
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  and it cites its sources. But then if you Scroll down like
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  3 scrolls, you'll get to the research papers, things from the
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  Kansas State University Beef Kettle Institute, you'll see
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  things from Texas A&M. You'll see things from a lot of
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  really great research institutions that break this
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  down and show that it does not take 1800 gallons of water to
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  produce 1 LB of beef. But here's the thing with that
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  1800 gallons of water and where that comes from.
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  That number bundles all water together.
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  It is bundling, rain, pond, pipe, everything.
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  So here are the facts. Let's start breaking it down.
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  First and foremost, we've got to understand the three different
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  types of water use. We have green water, which is
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  rainfall absorbed by pasture plants.
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  We have blue water, which is irrigation, thinking, drinking
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  water, surface and groundwater. Then we have grey water, which
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  is water needed to dilute pollution.
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  So here's the reality of it. 94 to 97% of the water used in beef
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  production is green water, rainfall that would fall on the
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  land whether the cattle were there or not.
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  Actual consumption or blue water used per pound of US beef is
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  actually only about 280 to 400 gallons and far lower than what
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  was originally quoted. And there are even studies out
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  there that show that we can be as low as 158 gallons for blue
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  and great green water footprint. At the end of the day, the water
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  falling on a Kansas Prairie isn't stolen by cattle.
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  They're part of the cycle that keeps it alive and keeps us able
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  to have a flourish fishing ecosystem in an ecosystem that
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  continues to provide water for our land.
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  Here's another bonus. Cattle managed under certain
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  grazing practices can actually improve water infiltration,
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  build soil organic matter, and reduce runoff, increasing how
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  much rain actually gets absorbed into the soil.
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  So when cattle are managed right, they don't just drink
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  water, they actually protect it. OK, let's move on to claim
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  number 2. Beef is unsustainable in a
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  warming world. Here's what the critics are
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  saying. Cattle emit methane, a potent
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  greenhouse gas. Agriculture should move away
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  from ruminants to cut climate impact and the future should be
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  plant based for the planet. Here is the real facts guys.
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  So when discussing methane versus carbon, cattle emit
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  biogenic methane, which is a methane that is part of the
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  natural carbon cycle. Methane from cattle, it breaks
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  down at about 10 years. Unlike fossil fuels that stick
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  around for centuries, a cow's methane today isn't adding to
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  the heat. It's part of a balanced circular
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  ecosystem. So with that, remember, cattle
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  emit biogenic methane that is part of that natural carbon
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  cycle. And let's talk about how great
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  we've been doing over the past 50 years.
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  So since the 1970's, the US beef industry has reduced emissions
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  per pound by 30% used, 81% less water, used 19% less feed and
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  produces more beef with fewer animals.
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  We are continuing to being a more sustainable, better overall
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  producer population for the beef industry as every year goes by
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  and it's only going up from here.
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  At the end of the day, cattle support carbon sequestration
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  through managed grazing practices.
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  They help maintain grasslands, which are one of the best carbon
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  sinks on the planet and actually even better than forest and dry
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  climates. So if we remove cattle, we lose
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  the very ecosystem that buffers us from those climate extremes
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  that everyone is so scared of. Cattle aren't a climate threat,
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  They are a climate tool and a tool that needs to be continued
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  to be used, and a tool that needs to be advocated for.
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  Removing beef doesn't save the planet and actually just starves
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  the system that sustains it. The US beef industry is
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  responsible for only 3.7% of US greenhouse gas emissions.
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  Is this something that we can continue to improve on?
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  Absolutely. But if you compare that to other
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  industries, we are a drop in the water in comparison to the
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  greenhouse gas emissions. Are there areas that we can
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  continue to improve? Yes, and we are doing so each
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  and every day. Let's look at where we were 50
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  years ago versus today. We are going to continue as we
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  build a more sustainable herd population and just build better
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  beef. We are then building a more
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  sustainable industry and better our climate control.
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  Because if we have animals that are more efficient and more
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  efficient with the land and beef production and water and
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  everything else in between, then we are then helping the climate
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  and helping the ecosystem that are around us.
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  Cattle producers and farmers. In my opinion, and it's actually
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  pretty much a fact, we're some of the first environmentalists
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  of this world. We care about the environment.
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  And so it is up to us to use real stats, post them, speak
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  them and stand behind them. Get that notes out and add these
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  facts to your notes app. That way you are continuously
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  seeing facts about beef cattle production, what that means for
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  us as producers, and you are prepared for these
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  conversations. When these conversations come
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  up, you need to be talking about your grazing practices, you need
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  to be talking about water management, you need to be
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  talking about conservation. Don't be afraid to correct the
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  narrative when the narrative is wrong because most people have
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  never heard your side of the narrative.
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  It is so important that we speak up.
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  It is so important that we continue to defend the cattle
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  industry and that we Get the facts right.
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  Not only that we understand where consumers are coming from
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  and where the anti beef narrative is first derived from
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  what people are seeing, but then the facts that go against it and
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  then how we as producers can continue to share that.
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  At the end of the day, if you raise cattle, you raise carbon
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  smart protein and that deserves a whole lot more respect.
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  Today we talked about water and we talked about emissions, 2
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  very hot topics and AG and areas that thankfully we are
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  continuing to get better in every single year.
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  Take this as an opportunity to stand up for AG and continue to
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  be an informed producer population.
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  That way we can continue to have an informed consumer population
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  and be better each and every year.
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  Thank you guys so much for listening to another episode of
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  the Cattle USA Daily Podcast. If you guys enjoyed today's
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  episode, give us a thumbs up, give us a like share with a
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  friend, subscribe to the show, whatever that may be for you.
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  We really appreciate any and all of the love around here and as
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  always, I hope you guys have a great rest of your day and and
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  we will see you all tomorrow on another episode.
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  Have a good one y'all.