Chapter 1. The Cost of Corn-Fed Beef
Introduction
In this activity you will watch a short video on beef production (3:29), produced by the Wall Street Journal digital network. In this news report, journalist Matt Rivera visits two ranches in eastern Pennsylvania to learn more about their distinct approaches to raising beef cattle.
In the questions that follow, you will be asked to analyze the content and presentation of the video in relation to the learning competency of Environmental Literacy, as you learned about in Chapter # of your textbook. In addition, you will be asked to connect the video content to portions of Chapter 18 (pp. 321-323) and Chapter 5 (pp. 82-85), so be sure to have your textbook with you while completing this activity.
1.1 Analyzing The Video
Instructions
Watch the video and answer the following questions:
1.
The video touched on a number of benefits and drawbacks for both conventional (corn-fed) beef production and grass-fed beef production. For each of the listed benefit/drawbacks below, use the dropdown menu to indicate whether the statement best applies to “conventional” or “grass-fed” beef production
| Benefit/Drawback | Conventional or Grass Fed? |
|---|---|
| Can alter feed recipes easily to use cheaper inputs | |
| Requires a lot of land for grazing | |
| Requires petroleum fertilizer to grow feed | |
| Can raise more cattle on a single ranch | |
| Cattle fatten quickly and reach market weight faste | |
| Produces beef with richer vitamin content | |
| Produces beef with higher omega-3 fatty acid content | |
| Produces beef with higher saturated fat content | |
| Is considered a less efficient way of raising beef cattle | |
| Must charge consumers more to make a profit | |
| Cattle produce the fertilizer that helps grow their food | |
| Produces a more familiar taste for consumers | |
| The main input costs are connected to harvesting hay | |
| Rising fuel costs push slim profit margins to near zero | |
| Cattle eat things that are not part of their natural diet |
1.2 Analyzing The Video (Part 2)
5.
On page 4 of your textbook you will find an explanation and a definition for the concept of the triple bottom line. Drawing on this information, re-examine the list of benefits and drawbacks provided below and for each one place a checkmark where the benefit or drawback is based on environmental (env), social (soc) or economic (econ) factors. (Note: you may check more than one answer where appropriate):
| Benefit/Drawback | Env | Soc | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can alter feed recipes easily to use cheaper inputs | |||
| Requires a lot of land for grazing | |||
| Requires petroleum fertilizer to grow feed | |||
| Can raise more cattle on a single ranch | |||
| Cattle fatten quickly and reach market weight faster | |||
| Produces beef with richer vitamin content | |||
| Produces beef with higher omega-3 fatty acid content | |||
| Produces beef with higher saturated fat content | |||
| Is considered a less efficient way of raising beef cattle | |||
| Must charge consumers more to make a profit | |||
| Cattle produce the fertilizer that helps grow their food | |||
| Produces a more familiar taste for consumers | |||
| The main input costs are connected to harvesting hay | |||
| Rising fuel costs push slim profit margins to near zero |
1.3 Taking a Second Look at Beef Production
Instructions
For this part of the assignment please read Chapter 18, pages 321-323 of your textbook (“Some Industrial Agricultural Practices Have Significant Drawbacks”). After doing so, watch the video a second time and answer the following questions:
9.
According to your textbook, the Nissley Brothers Farm that was depicted in the video might be considered an example of a CAFO, which stands for:
| A. |
| B. |
| C. |
| D. |
1.4 Taking a Second Look at Beef Production (Part 2)
11.
Looking at the disadvantages in Question 10, which component of the triple bottom line is most frequently discussed?
| A. |
| B. |
| C. |
1.5 Assessing the Costs of Producing Beef
Instructions
For this part of the assignment please read Chapter 5, pages 82-83 of your textbook (“Mainstream Economics Supports Some Actions That Are Not Sustainable”), focusing on the discussion of internal costs, external costs and true costs. After doing so, watch the video a third time if necessary and answer the following questions:
14.
The statements below highlight a number of environmental and social problems associated with conventional beef production, which you read about in Chapter 18. As Chapter 5 explains, such problems generate additional costs that are not always factored into the price of beef. For each statement below, select whether we are dealing with an internal cost or an external cost in relation to conventional beef production:
| Additional Costs of Conventional Beef Production | Internal or External? |
|---|---|
| Costs associated with the damages and disruptions caused by industrial agriculture’s numerous contributions to global warming | |
| Costs associated with water depletion and soil erosion caused by the monocrop agricultural practices used to grow feed for CAFO cattle | |
| Costs associated with addressing health problems in cattle caused by high grain diets and confinement | |
| Costs associated with addressing health problems in humans caused by antibiotic resistant microbes and diets rich in fatty beef | |
| Costs associated with safely containing the high volumes of animal manure produced by CAFOs |
Activity Report
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