A great site for beef producers to keep an eye on for issues that impact the beef industry is MeatingPlace.com. Membership is free, and you'll have access to blogs such as the one below that caught my attention this morning. Click the title link for the source page. Over the past several months more and more folks are finding their voice in regard to what many now feel is a real issue impacting all aspects of the beef industry - methane gas from cattle and Global Warming.
In industry blogs and in blog commentary there is to be found much debate and opinion about the impact to the future if in fact Cows are ultimately found to be a 'non-essential' food and destroyer of the Ozone.
Cutting to the Chase - Happy New Year: get ready for a fight
By: Raoul BaxterJanuary 07, 2010
(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)"I think 2010 is going to be a very tough year for agriculture of all types, primarily because we have a panel of government appointees who have a much different agenda than the state of agriculture.
During 2010 we as agricultural professionals have to learn to listen to conflicting if not adversarial views. We get nothing out of talking to each other to reaffirm what we already believe. If you want to remain ignorant about anything just talk to or read things written by people who agree with you. You have to understand where adversaries are coming from, if nothing else to understand where they're coming up with what they think is true. We can agree to disagree, and we may actually agree on some things. Loose-cannon fanatics are just going to be part of the landscape.
We must push relentlessly for facts, common sense and truth. Also, provide people with proper perspective. There aren't many people who take personal tours of the agriculture Twilight Zone. We must be aggressive and nonstop in dealing with truth and facts. Don't allow people to lie, fabricate or fictionalize facts about agriculture. The time to be passive is over. These people are trying to destroy us, so why should we just sit and watch them distort everything? But we must be honest and open. It's not so hard to say, "It was a mistake," if that happens.
In 2006, the United Nations, famous for its self-interest and usually incorrect information, did a "study" on how much methane cows give off. They said it was 16 percent, and then every pseudo expert began to run with it for three years. Then the EPA, U. of California at Davis and U. of California independently found this number was actually 2.8 percent. So the UN was 150 percent wrong.
This is the kind of challenge we face. Be right and then stand up for what is right."