Reply #17: Which isn't doable [View All]

[LeftyMom]

Either from a water standpoint or simply based on the availability of sufficient grazing land near population centers, to say nothing of the cost of land near those areas, or the opportunity cost compared to most other uses. There is a reason most wide-scale grazing occurs in the rural west, where there are few people and federally subsidized land is almost free to use.

Nor are many areas capable of providing year-round fodder without supplemental feeds at some point in the year, so the issue of trucking in food doesn't really go away. Also, decentralized rearing of cattle and other livestock would increase the length and inefficiency of transportation to slaughter, because nobody wants a slaughterhouse anywhere near where people live.

Grazing is also a big source of erosion issues and a significant motivator for the killing of native flora and fauna- hardly a good solution from an ecological standpoint.