<dh_ld.DeleteThis@nomail.com> wrote in message
news:k5avh09gb41i9fefhk2il4jm76r7rdkncq@4ax.com...
> one meal of soy or rice based product is
> likely to involve more animal deaths than hundreds of meals
> derived from grass raised cattle.
"is likely"?? You have been making this crackpot claim for YEARS, and I
have been challenging you to produce some scientifically-credible evidence
supporting it for YEARS, yet you have failed to do so. Any honest person
would stop making unsupportable claims in public, but not you.
Now, how about some science that supports your claim?? Or demonstrate a
little intellectual integrity and politely withdraw it.
> Grass raised cattle products contribute to less wildlife deaths,
The substitution of mono crop "grass" for the original ecosystem caused
many wildlife deaths which you intentionally ignore, in addition to drastic
reduction in plant biodiversity.
> ... better wildlife habitat, ...
"Disturbance of wetlands by cattle has negatively affected other
amphibian species and may have a negative impact on the Plains Spadefoot
(Cottonwood Consultants 1986). In British Columbia, cattle prints in
breeding wetlands trap Great Basin Spadefoot tadpoles preventing them from
reaching deeper areas of the wetland as it dries (Orchard 1992). High
turbidity, with high nutrient loading from cattle feces, resulting in
greatly reduced dissolved oxygen content has been linked to complete
die-offs of Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) at Suffield National
Wildlife Area and may have impacted other amphibian species (A. Didiuk,
unpubl. data). However, Klassen (1998) found that Plains Spadefoots near
Milk River successfully reproduced in wetlands that were heavily disturbed
by cattle."
http://www3.gov.ab.ca/srd/fw/status/reports/spadefoot/lim.html
"The arrival of more people and cattle, along with the arrival of
commercialized farming, marked the beginning of the end for native prairies
in the basin. Destruction of the native prairie can be attributed to three
main factors: plowing, overgrazing, and fire control."
http://www.mdc.missouri.gov/fish/watershed/nodaway/landuse/280lutxt.htm
"... overgrazing and cultivation were the most dramatic disruptions of
the natural prairie ecosystem, ..."
"Grazing areas have often been subject to spraying with herbicides to
kill broadleaf plants in the misguided belief that pure grass stands make
better forage for cattle. This greatly reduces the plant biodiversity of the
prairie, which though dominated by grasses, contains literally hundreds of
other, non-grass species."
http://accad.osu.edu/womenandtech/2004/research%20pages/Loss/loss.html
"the disastrous effects that livestock grazing has on native wildlife
populations. For example:
a.. Grazing domestic livestock on arid lands is the chief factor
responsible for the decline of native trout in the West. Of 32 fish species
native to Arizona, 5 are extinct and 21 of the remaining 27 are officially
listed as Threatened or Endangered, or are being considered for listing
all due largely to ranching.
b.. Perching bird and songbird populations have been decimated. For
example, at Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge birdcounts were 5-7
times higher on an ungrazed area of the Refuge, compared to surrounding
grazed lands.
c.. Wild turkey and other upland "game" birds such as Ruffed grouse, Blue
grouse and Lesser and Greater prairie-chickens have also suffered, as have
Gambel's quail, Montezuma quail, and Scaled quail. Livestock have destroyed
their food sources, cover, and essential understory vegetation. Intensive
reintroduction and recovery efforts for the wild turkey have restored it to
some areas, though generally only to about 10%-20% of its original
population.
d.. Displaced by domestic livestock, elk populations are estimated at 10%
of their original number; pronghorn at 5%. "
http://www.mikehudak.com/Articles/CowsOnDole9801.html
A Declaration from the RangeNet 2000 Symposium
http://www.rangenet.org/rn2k/declaration.html
"23 of the 29 state-list threatened avian species in Arizona are
impacted adversely by grazing according to the Arizona Game and Fish
Department."
http://www.rangenet.org/directory/witzemanr/cactus%20Feb.%202001.htm
"Service. Each year taxpayers subsidize approximately $100 million to
support grazing on public lands,"
"According to numerous authorities, livestock grazing has had and is
having serious impacts on the varied resources of these federal lands."
"As a result of being consumed beyond their ability to renew themselves,
vegetative species are disappearing from our ranges, to be replaced by
unpalatable weeds, thorny shrubs and unproductive woodlands (BLM, 1989) as
well as by exotic, non-native species (D'Antonio, et al., 1992). A 1994 U.S.
Forest Service report concluded that livestock grazing was the 4th major
cause of overall species endangerment and the 2nd major cause of plant
endangerment (Belsky et al. 2002). An analysis of 54 scientific papers on
the impacts of grazing on lands in the west between 1945 and 1996 found that
total vegetation biomass (weight of vegetation per hectare of land) was
detrimentally affected by grazing in comparison to non-grazed plots in 91%
of the observations made by biologists (Jones, 2002)." "Cattle can denude
land of vegetation causing greater soil erosion and they can compact soils
with their hooves resulting in reduced water infiltration. The removal of
vegetation also exposes the ground to greater solar radiation increasing the
evaporation of moisture (Wuerthner and Matteson, 2002), leaving those plants
not eaten by cattle at increased risk of dying from lack of water. "
"The thin ribbons of green vegetation that border water sources and
provide cover and water vital to the survival of virtually all kinds of
wildlife in the water-poor West are becoming endangered as livestock use of
many of these areas is changing, reducing or eliminating the vegetation on
their borders, trampling their banks, degrading water quality, and
increasing water temperatures"
"In fact, grazing has damaged 80% of western streams and riparian areas
in the U.S. (Belsky et al., 2002). The combined action of cattle trampling
soils and consuming riparian plants collapses stream banks resulting in
sediment loads and channel widening. In addition, the dramatic change in the
physical characteristics of affected streams modifies or terminates the
natural flood regime thus inhibiting the development of cottonwood and
willow gallery forests (Kauffman, 2002). The loss of vegetation and
compaction of soil keeps rainwater from entering the soil and instead,
during storms, causes the water to rush into streams generating high peak
flows that erode stream banks and deepen channels. As a result, water tables
are lowered and less water is available in the soil for the late summer,
potentially drying out the riparian area (Belsky et al., 2002). "
"Waste from livestock is a major cause of pollution, pathogenic bacteria
blooms, and reduced oxygen levels in streams. One cow excretes between 30
and 40 pounds of urine and between 29 and 70 pounds of manure a day that
often is directly deposited in streams. This waste raises the levels of
nitrogen and phosphorous in the aquatic environment causing algae blooms
that lower dissolved oxygen levels threatening fish and other organisms. The
loss of shade from cattle trampling and grazing on riparian vegetation also
raises the water temperature and reduces water oxygen levels (Carter, 2002).
Fish have become increasingly threatened from grazing throughout the West,
including in particular native trout (Fleishner, 1994) and salmon species
(U.S. Forest Service and BLM, 1994). A single cow's daily waste can also
introduce harmful bacteria into waterways. Such waste can contain up to 5.4
billion fecal coliform bacteria and 31 billion fecal streptoccus bacteria.
In a 1997 study of a creek in Utah's Wasatch - Cache National Forest, 0 to
16 fecal coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters of water were found upstream
of a cattle-grazing area. In stark comparison, 201 fecal coliform bacteria
per 100 milliliters were found downstream of the grazing area. In some small
tributaries the count was found up around 1400 fecal coliform bacteria per
milliliter of water (Carter, 2002). "
"In many cases, the wildlife are losing and their numbers are declining
(Flather, et al. 1994). Among the species that have been and are being
affected by grazing are prairie dogs, desert tortoise, Sonoran pronghorn
antelope, and numerous bird species, including game birds such as
sharp-tailed grouse and sagehens (Nowakowski, et al., 1982; U.S. General
Accounting Office, 1991).
Bison, bighorn sheep, deer, antelope, and elk are threatened by competition
with domestic cattle. Unlike these native grazers which wander from area to
area, cattle will concentrate in place, particularly riparian areas, for
long periods of time grazing on grasses and trampling on most vegetation.
This greatly reduces the suitability of the land for natural grazers and the
loss of grasses and shrubs eliminates important cover for deer and antelope
fawns and elk calves from predators (Willers, 2002).
Grazing has also negatively affected Neotropical migratory land birds and
their habitats (Bock, et al., 1993). The North American Breeding Bird Survey
has shown that grassland birds are undergoing declines that are more
widespread than any other group of birds. Cowbird populations have increased
dramatically as a result of the expansion of livestock grazing due to the
cowbird's preference to feed on insects flushed out by cattle. Cowbirds -
which lay their eggs in the nests of other birds which usually raise cowbird
nestlings at the expense of their own - have negatively impacted populations
of other birds such as the plumbeous vireo and the willow flycatcher in
areas where the cowbirds were once uncommon or absent. Grazing also removes
refuges from predators for birds and favorable habitats for roosting and
nesting by reducing the height and ground cover of grasses (Bock, 2002). "
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/documents/grazing_enviro_effects.pdf
So, once again, your crackpot claims are refuted by real science. Any
chance you will stop lying, soon??
Laurie
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