Environmental leader has no beef with meat production

Unlike some of his counterparts in the environmental movement, Larry Schweiger has no beef with the nation’s meat producers.  In fact, he’s critical of those who use what he calls “wildly exaggerated” claims to advance an anti-meat agenda. 

Schweiger, the outspoken president of the National Wildlife Federation, was at the University of Nebraska Wednesday to discuss global warming.  After his presentation, we asked him about those environmentalists who attack agriculture— and specifically, meat production. 

“They’re animal rights groups that are pushing that, not the environmental community,” says Schweiger. “They want to stop the use of meat for food and they’re finding any way they can to do that—and I frankly take exception to their numbers—they’re wildly exaggerated and they’re not real.” 

A National Wildlife Federation report released in January suggested that increased corn plantings for ethanol production are threatening grassland bird populations in the Prairie Pothole states of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Minnesota.   The report blamed state and federal incentives for corn ethanol production for what it called “high increases in corn planting” and the resulting “destruction of natural habitat.”  

Schweiger was asked for his own views on biofuels such as ethanol and soy biodiesel. 

“Well, I think there will be some use of various ag crops,” he replied. “I actually think that there’s an opportunity in biogas.  If you were to take the corn fodder of corn residues and gasify those in a reactor, that will produce biochar.  You can put the carbon back in the soil in a way that stays there for a long time—actually improves the soil condition—while also producing gas off of these waste fuel crops.” 

Regarding climate change, Schweiger says the earth is warming at an alarming rate—and he strongly advocates stringent carbon reduction regulations.  His views are best summarized by the title of his latest book—Last Chance: Preserving Life on Earth.

AUDIO: Larry Schweiger (7 min MP3)