Mark Longley: Beef intake should be limited for humans, environment

To The Daily Sun,

As the owner of North Country Farm, I want to talk about beef consumption. The news media is giving considerable attention to the new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services dietary guidelines and food pyramid, which encourages us to consume red meat primarily because of its high protein content.

What's missing in the conversation, however, is that the production of red meat (beef) has serious consequences for our environment. Raising cattle adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere in two major ways: Belching beef cattle emit methane, one of the most potent of all greenhouse gases. And the demand for beef encourages the conversion of carbon-sequestering forests into grasslands. (Consider what's happening in the Amazon.)

Greenhouse gases warm the planet, causing tumultuous climate effects, so shouldn't we consider the long-term environmental effects of eating beef as well as its human health effects? There are lots of animal-based and plant-based foods other than red meat that can satisfy our dietary needs for protein. But we don't need to go cold-turkey. Let's eat beef ― but sparingly, please.

Mark Longley

Sandwich