The-Accountant-Sep-Oct-2017-Final

Environment
Livestock now use 30 percent of
the earth’s entire land surface, mostly
permanent pasture but also including 33
percent of the global arable land used to
producing feed for livestock, the report
notes. As forests are cleared to create
new pastures, it is a major driver of
deforestation, especially in Latin America
where, for example, some 70 percent of
former forests in the Amazon have been
turned over to grazing; timeforchange.
org further notes that with increased
prosperity, people are consuming more
meat and dairy products every year. Global
meat production is projected to more
than double from 229 million tonnes in
1999/2001 to 465 million tonnes in 2050,
while milk output is set to climb from 580
to 1043 million tonnes. A Japanese study
Corn and soy that
most cows eat makes
them especially
gassy, so feeding
them alfalfa and
supplements could
reduce how much
they belch. More
research on how to
optimize what we
feed livestock could
help farmers reduce
emissions. But even if
we can’t control how
much cows belch, we
can control what we
do with their poop.
showed that producing a kilogram of
beef leads to the emission of greenhouse
gases with a global warming potential
equivalent to 36.4 kilograms of carbon
dioxide (CO2). footprint and to generally
reduce our personal negative impact on
the environment. Meanwhile npr.org says
we could also try to switch up what we
feed cows. It notes that having cows graze
on grass isn’t a very efficient use of land,
as the grass makes for smaller animals,
who end up emitting more greenhouse
gases per pound of meat produced, than
animals raised on grain. However, corn
and soy that most cows eat makes them
especially gassy, so feeding them alfalfa
and supplements could reduce how much
they belch. More research on how to
optimize what we feed livestock could
help farmers reduce emissions. But even
if we can’t control how much cows belch,
we can control what we do with their
poop. When nitrogen in livestock manure
and urine is also broken down into nitrous
oxide — and emissions from manure
accounted for 16 percent of agricultural
emissions in 2011, according to the FAO.
Managing all that manure — or even
reusing it as fuel, is one way to reduce
emissions.
But why is the relationship
between man and cow so
strong? And what can be
done to reduce the methane
gas?
A story was published not so long ago
about a young man who was taking a cow
to the slaughterhouse. Along the way,
he encountered a gang that wanted to
forcibly circumcise him and had decided
this was the best time to do it. To his
pleasant surprise, the cow he was leading
to the slaughterhouse, and with whom he
thought he had no relationship, charged
at the gang and was ready to attack them;
they all took off in horror.
Meanwhile, mkgandhi.org discussing
the Mind of Mahatma Gandhi quotes him
as saying…Mother Cow is in many ways
better than the mother who gave us birth.
Our mother gives us milk for a couple
of years and then expects us to serve her
when we grow up. Mother cow expects
from us nothing but grass and grain. Our
mother often falls ill and expects service
from us. Mother cow rarely falls ill. Here
is an unbroken record of service which
does not end with her death. Our mother,
when she dies, means expenses of burial
or cremation. Mother cow is as useful
dead as when she is alive. We can make
use of every part of her body-her flesh, her
bones, her intestines, her horns and her
skin. Well, I say this not to disparage the
mother who gives us birth, but in order
to show you the substantial reasons for
my worshipping the cow. (H, 15-9-1940,
p. 281)… my religion teaches me that I
should by personal conduct instill into the
minds of those who might hold different
views, the conviction that cow-killing is
a sin and that, therefore, it ought to be
abandoned. (YI, 29-1-1925, p. 38)… cow
slaughter can never be stopped by law.
Knowledge, education, and the spirit
of kindliness towards her alone can put
an end to it. It will not be possible to
save those animals that are a burden on
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