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posted by n1 on Tuesday May 06 2014, @12:57PM   Printer-friendly
from the but-not-hot-sauce-resistant dept.

Evan Halper writes in the LA Times that with efforts to reduce carbon emissions lagging, researchers, backed by millions of dollars from the federal government, are looking for ways to protect key industries from the impact of climate change by racing to develop new breeds of farm animals that can stand up to the hazards of global warming. "We are dealing with the challenge of difficult weather conditions at the same time we have to massively increase food production" to accommodate larger populations and a growing demand for meat, says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. For example a team of researchers is trying to map the genetic code of bizarre-looking African naked-neck chickens to see if their ability to withstand heat can be bred into flocks of US broilers. "The game is changing since the climate is changing," says Carl Schmidt. "We have to start now to anticipate what changes we have to make in order to feed 9 billion people," citing global-population estimates for 2050.

Warmer temperatures can create huge problems for animals farmed for food. Turkeys are vulnerable to a condition that makes their breast meat mushy and unappetizing. Disease rips through chicken coops. Brutal weather can claim entire cattle herds. Some climate experts, however, question the federal government's emphasis on keeping pace with a projected growing global appetite for meat. Because raising animals demands so many resources, the only viable way to hit global targets for greenhouse gas reduction may be to encourage people to eat less meat and point to an approach backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates that takes animals out the process altogether. "There's no way to produce enough meat for 9 billion people," says Bill Gates. "Yet we can't ask everyone to become vegetarians. We need more options for producing meat without depleting our resources."
 
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  • (Score: 1) by Yates on Wednesday May 07 2014, @01:42AM

    by Yates (3947) on Wednesday May 07 2014, @01:42AM (#40397)

    "historically we've always pushed cattle to garbage land thats unsuitable for anything else (historically as in pre-1900s or so)." ... "Pretty much if cattle and buffalo live there, you probably don't want to live there because its garbage land."

    Ummm... I don't think so. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Ranch [wikipedia.org]

    "Parker Ranch is a working cattle ranch on the Island of Hawaii" ... "The ranch was founded in 1847 and is one of the oldest ranches in the United States" ... "Spreading across approximately 250,000 acres (100,000 ha) of the island"

  • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday May 07 2014, @02:25PM

    by Reziac (2489) on Wednesday May 07 2014, @02:25PM (#40539) Homepage

    You do realize that a great deal of Hawaii is rocky land with shallow soil? it gets enough rain that it gets lots of growth anyway, but it's not suitable for cultivation. Crops make considerably more money per acre; no one runs livestock if they have the choice of crops.

    --
    And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.