Die Kuh ist kein Klima-Killer
Wie die Agrarindustrie die Erde verwüstet und was wir dagegen tun können
Anita Idel, 2010.
Metropolis Verlag für Ökonomie, Marburg. In German.
Cows belch methane – a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Concerns about a changing climate have led many to call for curbs on cattle and other ruminants such as sheep, goats and buffaloes.
This book by LPP member Anita Idel argues that cattle and other livestock are vital for food production and to use land that cannot be cultivated. But they must be managed in the right way. Feeding them with intensively cultivated maize and soybean indeed harms the climate: synthetic fertilizers require a lot of energy and release nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas that is 295 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
This book looks at the relationships between the soil, vegetation and animals. It argues that all depends on the sustainable grazing management of the livestock. Allowing them to graze on pasture converts vegetation into meat and milk, protects and enriches the soil, and minimizes the production of extra greenhouse gases.
An English version of the book is planned for 2011.
Summary (in English)