When searching for something interesting to blog about this week I fell upon an article in the Globe and Mail about Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy the Canadian cow who sold for $1.2 million at an Ontario sale last week. The article written by Nathan VanderKlippe made its way into the Top 5 Must Read Stories of the week. The article talks about Missy’s production, numerous contracts and the general direction of purebred animals on Canadian farms. Being a dairy farmer, I knew the article was written for urbanites and wasn’t directed at the dairy industry, but I do give kudos to the Globe and Mail for including factual agriculture news in their publication.
It wasn’t so much the article that spiked my interest but the twenty or so comments relating to the article. A few made jokes about the cow’s udder, others commented that Missy would make an expensive steak but the comment surrounding cows and their CO2 emissions made the largest impression upon myself.
As for cows and CO2, grass fed cows that are not juiced with cereal grains to boost the volume of milk production (to pay for exorbnitant quotas) as the overriding objective emit far less gas.
The article outlined the great genetics coming from Canadian dairy cows but this comment was off topic and puts a negative image of the dairy industry in consumers’ minds. The popular topic that animals produce too much CO2 emissions is one that truly bothers me. A friend of mine became a vegetarian for over a year because “it’s better for the environment” but my biggest pet peeve was she still consumed dairy products and eggs. As far as I know, beef cows produce similar levels of emissions as dairy cows. I know everyone has a right to an opinion but consumers should research and know the truth about agriculture before forming them. Agriculture has a large economical impact on Canada and not to mention provides food for each and every person. So I say, the next time Canadian agriculture is featured in an urban publication let’s be supportive and be proud of what Canada has to offer.
I’m not sure beef cows and dairy cows produce the same amount of GHG-related emissions. I suggest you do further research on this.
But your point about the Globe and Mail putting Missy on the cover is well taken. I see agriculture increasingly becoming a part of what constitutes the daily news, thanks in part to a more assertive media approach by the farm sector, and a growing awareness by the media that its readers, listeners and viewers are hungry for these stories.
By: Owen on November 26, 2009
at 12:47 pm