Posts in category Editor’s Desk

Evergreen’s editor, Jim Petersen discusses issues and current events and personal thoughts he finds to be relevant.

Felt Necessities: Engines of Forest Policy

Jim Petersen, September 17, 2018

Welcome to Felt Necessities: Engines of Forest Policy, a series of essays tracing the history of the conservation movement in the United States, and its …

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Editor's Desk

TED FRERES: ANOTHER GIANT GONE

Jim Petersen, June 6, 2018

It has been my great privilege to be on a first-name basis with many of the West’s post-World War II lumbermen – giants in the …

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Editor's Desk

Theodore F. Freres: 1950-2018

Jim Petersen, June 4, 2018

Oregon lumberman, Ted Freres, 68, died Sunday morning, June 3, in a Salem hospital following a long battle with cancer. Mr. Freres was the youngest …

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Editor's Desk

Another Giant Gone

Jim Petersen, April 4, 2018

Left to Right, the Three Amigos: John McBride, Russ Hudson and Gene Yavah Editor’s Note: John McBride, 90, a legendary forester from Libby, Montana, died …

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Editor's Desk The State Of Our Forests

Interim Forest Service Chief Keynotes IFOA Conference

Jim Petersen, March 27, 2018

Interim Forest Service Chief, Vicki Christiansen was the keynote speaker at the Idaho Forest Owners conference, March 26 in Moscow, Idaho. Ms. Christiansen, who was …

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Editor's Desk

“Unhappy” Trump Signs Budget Bill

Jim Petersen, March 25, 2018

Despite being “unhappy,” President Donald Trump has signed the $1.3 trillion Omnibus spending bill Friday night, after earlier threatening to veto the measure because it …

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Counties on Fire Editor's Desk

U.S. House fixes the fire borrowing mess; on to the Senate

Jim Petersen, March 22, 2018

The U.S. House of Representatives has belatedly fixed the fire borrowing mess that has for several years forced the Forest Service to borrow taxpayer money …

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Editor's Desk

The Newspaper Ad I Want to See

Jim Petersen, March 16, 2018

This full-page advertisement in the May 2 Wall Street Journal that caught my eye: A Federal Court has ordered R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Philip Morris USA, …

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Collaboration Editor's Desk

The Public Interest

Jim Petersen, March 14, 2018

Many organizations claim to be public interest groups – that is to say, groups that advocate or lobby for a perceived public interest or concern. …

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Counties on Fire Editor's Desk Perspectives

The War on The West

Jim Petersen, February 8, 2018

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air …

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"Agriculture and forestry land use in the US currently takes in and captures more carbon than it emits."

By managing soils for healthy crops and raising healthy livestock, soil can hold water, nutrients and capture carbon. As per the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), agriculture and forestry land use in the US currently takes in and captures more carbon than it emits.

Let that soak in….I have two burgers. The one on your left is a beef burger from McDonald’s and the other on the right is a Beyond Meat, plant-based protein burger from A&W.

You’ve been told by companies, groups and the media to choose; to eat less meat because one is better for the environment, and we’ve been led to believe that by picking one over the other, we’re doing our part in climate change and being more environmentally-friendly.

What if I told you that both burgers are doing their part and all agriculture is part of the solution, not the problem? What if I told you it’s not one versus the other when it comes to climate change? What if I told you there is more to the story than these companies are sharing?

To let you know, my family and I grow lentils. I’m grateful demand has grown for this tiny seed jammed packed with protein. I don’t raise cattle but have friends who do and am grateful for all they do to also raise nutrient-dense food.

All of agriculture, both the plant protein and the beef burger are doing their part when it comes to climate change. Agriculture in Canada accounts for 8% of total emissions, and cattle contribute less than half of that at 2.4%. But did you know the largest sources of emissions were transportation at 28%? Why are we blaming cows, dairy and meat so much?

Contrary to recent headlines, giving up meat won’t save the climate or even make a significant difference to climate change. According to the University of California, Davis, if Americans were to eat the plant-based burger instead of the beef burger on Meatless Monday every week for a year it would only be a reduction of 0.3% in emissions. If I were to go full vegan for a year, I would reduce 0.8 tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Is that 0.8 tonnes a huge difference? Not as much as you might want it to be. One round trip flight from the US to Europe emits 1.6 tonnes so a whole year of reducing meat in your diet has only half the impact of a single transatlantic flight.

Removing animals from agriculture would lower greenhouse gases to a small degree but there’s unintended consequences if we removed them completely. There’s a really great story when it comes to agriculture’s environmental footprint missing from those headlines and trying to get you to choose sides.

One part of that solution is right under our nose….literally. It’s in the soil. By managing soils for healthy crops and raising healthy livestock, soil can hold water, nutrients and capture carbon. As per the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), agriculture and forestry land use in the US currently takes in and captures more carbon than it emits.

Whoa….what?

–The Agriculture and Forestry sectors combined are capturing more carbon in the atmosphere than they are putting out. —

These headlines aren’t sharing agriculture is doing our part. In the past, our lentil fields would be ploughed so all you would see every other year would be soil and some weeds. But by growing a crop and minimally disturbing the soil by direct seeding, lentils take greenhouse gases out of the air, create nitrogen and then put nitrogen back into the soil. It’s like nature’s way of fertilizing the crop for next year and capturing carbon.

But not all land is suitable for growing crops. Only 3.2% of Canada’s land can be used for growing crops , but cattle can inhabit and graze nonarable land. Pastureland used for grazing cattle in Canada removes greenhouse gases and stores the emissions of 3.62 million cars per year. Raising cattle has many environmental benefits such as soil replenishment, nutrient recycling, preservation of natural grasslands, and improving biodiversity and wildlife habitat. It’s pretty incredible that cattle can upcycle land, which is otherwise unproductive to humans, into protein-rich food for families while returning benefits to the land.

These are just a couple of examples out of so many more of farmers and ranchers helping be more environmentally friendly and efficient. Whether we grow crops or raise livestock, we care about the soil and environment.

We know we have more work to do but we have been working hard at being more efficient, doing our part and being part of the solution.

There is always more to the story than the click-bait headlines. When you read or hear about “Eat Less Meat to Save the Planet” or have to choose between a plant-based or a meat burger, please remember and know that there are farmers and ranchers behind the scenes doing their best to save the planet too.

I appreciate that we get the choice of how to farm and you get so many choices in the grocery store and at restaurants. For me, I’ll always choose the beef burger.

Sources:

National Inventory Report, 2016; CRSB, 2016

www.agr.gc.ca/eng/science-and-innovation/agricultural-practices/climate-change-and-agriculture/ag…

www.wri.org/blog/2019/08/7-things-know-about-ipcc-special-report-land-and-climate

www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-qa-the-ipccs-special-report-on-climate-change-and-land

www.beefresearch.ca/resources/images.cfm

sustainablesociety.com/environment/land-use

www.alltech.com/features-podcast-blog/frank-mitloehner-cattle-climate-change-and-methane-myth

caes.ucdavis.edu/news/articles/2016/04/livestock-and-climate-change-facts-and-fiction … See MoreSee Less

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Posts in category Editor’s Desk

Evergreen’s editor, Jim Petersen discusses issues and current events and personal thoughts he finds to be relevant.

February 7, 2019 Felt Necessities: Engines of Forest Policy, Part 5

January 1, 2019 FIA: The Gold Standard

October 25, 2018 Felt Necessities: Engines of Forest Policy, Part 3

October 8, 2018 Felt Necessities: Engines of Forest Policy, Part 2

September 17, 2018 Felt Necessities: Engines of Forest Policy

Felt Necessities: Engines of Forest Policy

TED FRERES: ANOTHER GIANT GONE

Theodore F. Freres: 1950-2018

Another Giant Gone

Interim Forest Service Chief Keynotes IFOA Conference

“Unhappy” Trump Signs Budget Bill

U.S. House fixes the fire borrowing mess; on to the Senate

The Newspaper Ad I Want to See

The Public Interest

The War on The West