DRINKING 150 GALLONS OF WATER A DAY

            The website Visual Capitalist carried a story recently forwarded to me by a wanna-be farmer titled "Next Generation Food Systems."  Although the article is a bit dated (2017) it's a perfect example of the pseudo-science used to promote vertical farming (soilless systems) and lab proteins (fake meat).  In the article, they call it "in vitro" meat.

             This crowd keeps repeating the silliest statistic in the world:  each pound of beef takes 1,847 gallons of water.  Most people don't realize that this figure includes the water used in mining the steel to make the tractor to plant the corn to feed the cow.  They think this is what a cow drinks in a lifetime.  Grass-finished changes everything.

             The misleading data plus the duplicitous consumer make for incredibly misinformed, foolish decisions.  Let's assume a beef animal lives for 3 years prior to slaughter.  That's 1,095 days.  Each animal yields about 400 pounds of edible beef.

If we multiply that by the alleged 1,847 gallons of water per pound, that's 738,800 gallons of water in a lifetime, or 674 gallons per day.  If the average weight of the animal over its 3 years is about 674 pounds, that's a gallon per pound per day.

             An equivalent consumption for a person would be a gallon per pound per day; a 150 pound person would drink 150 gallons per day.

             Interestingly, the fake meat crowd does not include the same steel to make the tractor to plant the soybeans when they compare the two systems.  And they don't compare quality of protein to quality of protein.

             In my debate a couple of weeks ago with John Mackey, he admitted that nothing but meat would give the complete protein profile needed by the human body, but quipped "that's why you take a pill."  Now I want you to think about that.  Here's the founder of Whole Foods--whole foods, get it?--and advocate of whole foods--you know, whole foods, like apples, like T-bone steak, like eggs.  Whole foods.  Get it? 

             Here he is brushing off the efficacy of whole foods in favor of a pill.  If that isn't the height of hypocrisy I don't know what is.  "Hello, folks, I'm here to advocate for whole foods.  In fact, I named my business Whole Foods.  I believe in whole foods, okay?  But  you shouldn't buy the beef I sell; you should take a pill instead." 

             Truth is stranger than fiction, folks.  You can't make this stuff up.  Of course, the anti-meat crowd does not appreciate the hydration capacity of herbivore-enhanced and pruned perennial forages.  True, most domestic livestock is raised atrociously, but that is no reason to assume it all has to be raised that way, or that some folks are able to raise beef that gives back more water than it takes.

             So next time you see this thing about a pound of beef requiring 1,847 gallons of water, ask the person brainlessly repeating the number:  "do you know any mammal, including humans, who could drink a gallon of water per pound of body weight every day?"  Once you get them to appreciate the silliness of the data point, then you can zero in on what's included, if it's fair, and if it has to be.  Then you can have a discussion.  But too many sheeple are following this foolishness into what they think is a noble future and they're going to end up with compromised wellness (also known as sickness).  All in the name of doing good.  All while listening to subjective science.

             What's a better name for this stuff than "Fake Meat?"