Typically when most people think about meat, they think about the environment and the hoards of research that has shown the negative effects of the animal agriculture industry on the planet. If that’s true, does that mean that biltong is bad for the environment?
Animal agriculture and the state of the planet
Two of the most pressing issues humans face today is the issue of food security and climate change. Livestock production is considered to be one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gasses because the potent greenhouse gas, methane, is produced from digestion.
While this may be true, it is also worth noting that grass-fed beef has a substantially lower impact on the environment - in addition to being much healthier - than grain-fed beef.
Grass-fed beef contributes less to climate change
Grass-fed cattle have more freedom to spread manure, and if not overgrazed, can be helpful in distributing fertilizer throughout the pasture. Feedlot cattle however, are forced to pack on weight at a much faster rate and therefore eat more and produce vast amounts of waste in a small area over a short period of time, which causes air pollution and can lead to groundwater pollution.
Grass-fed beef contributes less to food insecurity
Since feedlot cattle are fed a diet of corn and soy, they end up using a large amount of the human grain supply. An average cow eats 2,800 pounds of corn during the last months of its life. More of our grain crop – about 80% of corn in the U.S. - goes to feeding animals than humans.
Grass-fed cattle however, consume forage and therefore take up none of our crop supplies, eliminating the concern of food crop security.
Where does biltong fit in?
Since our biltong is made using grass-fed beef, it’s safe to say that it is a much more environmentally friendly option – one that you can feel good about investing in. To try out our grass-fed biltong, head over to our biltong store now!
Sources: life.ca