Reduce Greenhouse Gasses By Reducing Livestock Production

Target: Russell Nelson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Goal: Reduce the production of cattle in order to decrease greenhouse gasses resulting from livestock

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists agriculture as one of the top five producers of greenhouse gasses in the United States. Within agriculture, the organization specifies livestock as the top emitter of these climate changing elements. This statistic, although daunting, is easy to believe as many other sources report another staggering fact: almost half of the land in the country is used for livestock production.

Deseret Ranches is a 300,000 acre for-profit compound in Florida owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The company’s website claims it uses 1,000 acres for farming, 1,600 acres of citrus tress, but does not share land use for their cattle. They do say, however, that their cattle collection consists of 42,500 cows which produce an additional 36,000 calves each year, making them the lead producer of cattle in the U.S. That’s a daunting number of cows that go on to contribute to the critical bipartisan issue of climate change.

The cattle themselves are not the only ones emitting these gasses throughout their lifespan; their food also takes a toll on the environment during it’s production. Deseret Ranches is vague about the feeding practices of their cattle, but the website “Sustainable Dish” informs that cattle generally have a weight ratio of 3:1 for grain to beef. That’s three times as many pounds of grain that need to be produced to grow a cow; growing grains also produces additional greenhouse gas. Cattle production just isn’t efficient. Deseret Ranches needs to allocate more of their land to farming that has a more minimized affect on the environment.

Sign the below petition to encourage Deseret Ranches to redistribute their land for an environmentally friendlier purpose.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear President Nelson,

There is no doubt your organization has had to shift to accommodate climate change. You have undoubtedly needed to spend more to bolster resources to keep your farms running with months now being warmer and also warmer longer. The EPA has been very clear that livestock are a significant producer of greenhouse gasses which contributes to problems that affect everyone, including you.

Reducing your cattle production is a surefire way to reduce greenhouse gas production and work towards solving a bipartisan issue that is only getting worse and thus creating more issues year after year. On your website, you mention all your cattle have the opportunity for grazing. Of your 300,000 acres, how many are held for cows? “Farming Base,” a livestock farming website, recommends 1.5-3 acres per cow-calf pair. With the number of cows you own, in addition to calves born each year, that is a lot of land.

Make the decision for allocating more land to citrus or other agriculture ventures. Moving your focus away from livestock will positively affect your carbon footprint by reducing methane from cattle as well as free up more land to expand other areas of your business.

People in the U.S. and around the world urge you to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by reducing livestock production.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit: Florida Crackle Cattle Association