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John Kerry talks about how farming is creating too many carbon emissions and needs to be cut back

I suppose agrochemical production could be made more efficient and less CO2 emitting.

There are less carbon intensive methods of farming but current market forces mean traditional farming is here to stay for a while. At least until new food production methods are cheaper and the technology is more widely available.
 
e.g. Synthesising animal proteins in a factory would emit less CO2 than rearing a cow presuming it was powered by low carbon sources of energy.
It sounds sci-fi but we can do it, it's just still very pricey. It will get cheaper though.

Eventually the majority of animal proteins will be made in factories, not fields.
 
Friendly Engineer said:
I suppose agrochemical production could be made more efficient and less CO2 emitting.

There are less carbon intensive methods of farming but current market forces mean traditional farming is here to stay for a while. At least until new food production methods are cheaper and the technology is more widely available.
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Warning - boring economic theory discussion coming up :)

The good news is that agriculture in the US is relatively close to pure competition. At least it was when I was studying economics in the late 90s. Maybe it is more monopolistic competition now given the increase in GMO and other resiliency modifications that introduce a degree of product differentiation. Never-the-less, given the large number of players in the market, profit maximizing farms will charge a price for their product where their marginal costs equal demand (in the absence of price supports, subsidies, and other mechanism that have been introduced to "stabilize" agriculture markets). So what's the good news? Pure competition is really just a battle of who has the lowest marginal costs. So this will help lead to innovation that can help drive down a farm's marginal costs.

I am confident that these challenges will be resolved so long as the farming market remains competitive.
 
Well the greatest hoot is they worry and stew about cow farts and dung. Or the carbon from tractors.

While blithely ignoring the methane producing buffalo that covered the plains in the millions.
Or the native Americans who regularly starting grass fires that would burn for miles to herd and corral the buffalos to the killing fields.
There was a reason the prairies was a prairie and not scrubland or forest.?
We produce food in the west more efficient than any civilization in history.

Farmers work very hard to make sure the land and the soils are preserved. It’s their bread and butter.

But let’s purposely drive up prices and fear just so city people who haven’t a clue the effort and care that is take to get food to the store.

There are always to do things better.
Farmers know this and are always looking for ways to improve upon their practices.

But like everything else let’s sell emergency fear porn to drive prices and practices into a non-tenable position.

FE you can eat the gentically grown meat I’ll be a vegetarian or start snaring squirrels before I eat factory grown meat.
I don’t even eat chicken or pork anymore from the store. So lean it doesn’t even taste like either.
But a half or quarter cow from a local farmer when they go to the butcher
 
OReid said:
Farmers know this and are always looking for ways to improve upon their practices.
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This is in large part due to the highly-competitive nature of agriculture. The fight to lower marginal costs to get an "edge" on a competitor leads to innovation that ultimately makes farming more efficient.

OReid said:
FE you can eat the gentically grown meat I’ll be a vegetarian or start snaring squirrels before I eat factory grown meat.
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I am a 22-year vegetarian (well, pescatarian), not for political nor ethical reasons. I do consume Impossible and Beyond products periodically (this is not an endorsement, just a statement of fact). Other than a periodic yet unjustified "Soylent Green" thought that pops in my head, I find them acceptable.
 
OReid said:
FE you can eat the gentically grown meat I’ll be a vegetarian or start snaring squirrels before I eat factory grown meat.
I don’t even eat chicken or pork anymore from the store. So lean it doesn’t even taste like either.
But a half or quarter cow from a local farmer when they go to the butcher
Click to expand...
Amino acids, proteins, fats and flavourings can be synthesised. Modern science is the only solution to overpopulation, to sustain continued population growth (the population is going to get much much bigger) we need ways of producing way more food.
We can't do that without factory food synthesis.

Also what if you could engineer the perfect steak? Designed to evoke the best taste from your taste receptors by teams of engineers.
What if you could make entirely new types of meat which taste even better? The possibilities are endless.

Granted I am a bit of a foodie and I do love locally produced good food but I'm willing to try synthetic meat. I really look forward to seeing all the amazing future technologies we'll develop.
 
Fun fact, the majority of the world's vanilla essence is synthesised from crude oil.

Chemical engineers have toiled away for decades to develop the latest generation of food.
 
Friendly Engineer said:
Fun fact, the majority of the world's vanilla essence is synthesised from crude oil.

Chemical engineers have toiled away for decades to develop the latest generation of food.
Click to expand...
I guarantee you that at some point in all of your lives you will have eaten something designed by engineers (unless you're a tree person who just eats nuts and berries lol, in which case you've eaten something which has been selectively bred by humans).
 
Friendly Engineer said:
Amino acids, proteins, fats and flavourings can be synthesised. Modern science is the only solution to overpopulation, to sustain continued population growth (the population is going to get much much bigger) we need ways of producing way more food.
We can't do that without factory food synthesis.

Also what if you could engineer the perfect steak? Designed to evoke the best taste from your taste receptors by teams of engineers.
What if you could make entirely new types of meat which taste even better? The possibilities are endless.

Granted I am a bit of a foodie and I do love locally produced good food but I'm willing to try synthetic meat. I really look forward to seeing all the amazing future technologies we'll develop.
Click to expand...
I’m not against technology but I’m sorry FE I’ve read the claims we won’t be able to do this or that. Or some pending doom is set to befall us. The world was going to be starving at the turn of the century, or the poles were going to melt by 2010. It an ice age is coming.
Science is polluted and corrupted with politicians and the constant need to generate fear and a cause to clamor to claim government grants to to support their cloistered research

Your taking to a person who can tell if the soil the carrot was grown in had enough nitrogen or whether a cow was fattened out on grass only or with corn.
Or knows what an egg yoke looks like from a free range chicken. It’s bunt orange not yellow.

I’ve read and listened to a lot of scientific claims about the climate or mass famines throughout my life.
Scientist clamoring over impending doom have simply lost all my respect and their scientific of doom are dropped in file 13.
That’s not to say science is bad it’s provided a host of technologies that make our life better.

But the Henny Penny’s chirping about doom and gloom, the sky is falling, have zero credibility with me.
 
A lot of good things have been done in the Heartland to help with erosion and growing better produce and meat. I would like to see less chemical usage and more organic farming....but trying to tell all the farmers and ranchers to cut back is a bad idea. Not only do we feed this country, but others as well! And I agreee, Oreid. I don't really want to try lab-grown meat either..ew. I'd rather have venison.
 
StormyCat said:
A lot of good things have been done in the Heartland to help with erosion and growing better produce and meat. I would like to see less chemical usage and more organic farming....but trying to tell all the farmers and ranchers to cut back is a bad idea. Not only do we feed this country, but others as well! And I agreee, Oreid. I don't really want to try lab-grown meat either..ew. I'd rather have venison.
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I’d rather eat carp and tree rats 🤣
In the central and southern Midwest catfish is prime rib of fish. But if you go north or west it’s trash fish. If you go to a cafe in a small town on Friday the special will always be catfish fritters. It’s a tradition and it’s a courtesy to our Catholic neighbors who still follow more traditional practices. Schools always served fish sticks in fridays.
I never understood the strife between Protestants Catholics and Jewish.
We all knew we followed slightly different traditions. We respected those differences. They were important to them and we respected that. We were the better for it.
Burgoo is survival stew that towns have created local holidays around. What ever is edible and available goes in the pot. Even cattle tails.


One thing I never could get a liking for was mountain oysters. Too rich.

I believe the greatest opportunity for increased food production and utilization of resources is hydroponics.
For veggies and growing them year round closer to population. Especially during the winter.
 
Friendly Engineer said:
I guarantee you that at some point in all of your lives you will have eaten something designed by engineers (unless you're a tree person who just eats nuts and berries lol, in which case you've eaten something which has been selectively bred by humans).
Click to expand...

Example: cool whip

www.eatthis.com

What's Really in Cool Whip Will Shock You

Although you ceremoniously grab a tub of Cool Whip before every barbeque, have you ever taken a second to think what exactly this container is full of?
www.eatthis.com www.eatthis.com
 
Friendly Engineer said:
Amino acids, proteins, fats and flavourings can be synthesised. Modern science is the only solution to overpopulation, to sustain continued population growth (the population is going to get much much bigger) we need ways of producing way more food.
We can't do that without factory food synthesis.

Also what if you could engineer the perfect steak? Designed to evoke the best taste from your taste receptors by teams of engineers.
What if you could make entirely new types of meat which taste even better? The possibilities are endless.

Granted I am a bit of a foodie and I do love locally produced good food but I'm willing to try synthetic meat. I really look forward to seeing all the amazing future technologies we'll develop.
Click to expand...

Waiting for "Tea, Earl Gray, hot."

 
All do respect, John Kerry doesn't have a clue about agriculture so he should probably take his climate agenda and go elsewhere.

We live in an age where farms are decreasing, farm acreage is decreasing and yet thanks to technology output is increasing. Environmentalists are attacking the hands that actually feed the world. The United States alone produces enough food to feed the world twice over. We now have manufacturing facilities growing indoor farms. The United States is the leader in agricultural output and technology and yet half the environmentalists mouthing off on social media about cows causing global warming believe there are brown cows at their local market producing the chocolate milk they consume.

I will say this, the last thing these people want to do is start attacking the agricultural industry, especially if they want to continue to eat and put renewable fuels in their cars and jets.
 
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