From William Stanton
Richard Dobson says that if the grain now fed to animals were used to feed people instead there would be plenty for everyone on Earth (26 April, p 20). He omits to say that for corn and wheat to be grown in the huge tonnages that are currently produced requires diesel-powered farm machinery.
The world is now passing through “peak oil”, so petroleum production will soon be declining. Liquid fuels such as diesel and petrol will become steadily more scarce and expensive. A farmer using liquid fuels is far more productive of grain than a farmer deprived of them. In addition, essential nitrogen fertiliser is made from natural gas, which is approaching peak production. Taking these factors together leads to the probability that in a few years’ time the world will have passed “peak grain” too.
Meat from animals fed on grass will be available to a small proportion of the world’s population, but the diminishing supplies of corn and wheat will soon be inadequate to feed everyone else.
From David Sandilands
Advertisement
Richard Dobson must surely realise there are not many real “needs” at all. I presume Dobson is a vegetarian (or is happy to become one), and that this is why he is able to dismiss meat as not being a need. I could equally dismiss travelling to work by car as not a need, since I am able to take the bus. Whether or not you value these things are to some extent lifestyle choices. But trying to strip people of these choices and dismissing their aspirations simply because they are not your own can only lead to them reacting defensively.
Instead, we should work on solutions that can meet people’s aspirations and be sustainable. Surely this must be the basis of progress in modern science.
Edinburgh, UK
Wells, Somerset, UK
