The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

pollyanna_26

Suffolk Sue you and your husband have been on a long hard and very painful journey. Comfort yourself he is at peace now and take very good care of yourself. I know from personal experience just how mixed the emotions can be. Not wanting loved ones to suffer but dreading the day they are no longer there. It takes time and tears but one day the sun will shine again for you and you'll look back to the memories of happier times and be grateful for those times.

pollyx

DigForVictory

My lads know I think a Will is just sensible. When one got his first car, he signed up as an organ donor but also bought & completed a WHSmiths Will pack so we could sort the car out.
The other is applying for a driving licence & was slightly spooked about being asked to confirm he would donate organs in the event (he hadn’t thought driving that hazardous, dear child). I asked if he wanted to, in the event, & got a suitably vehement yes, and pointed out that was all the machine (& I) wanted to know.
We need to update our Wills - the house is split three ways still, d’oh. Something else on the to do list, but at least the pros have socially distanced witnessing of signatures down pat…

Blue_Doggy

VJsmum said:

I'm not saying this to be holier than thou as we have cow's milk in plastic supermarket containers but I'm not sure that any cow's milk is particularly environmentally friendly.   Forced calving, getting rid of the male calfs - not to mention the methane - all contribute.  

What is “forced calving”? Many male calves are now reared for British rose veal, or (if from a cross with a beef breed) reared for beef. And AI gives the option of sexed semen so that only or mainly female calves are born.
 

I’m never sure about the methane argument - ruminant animals have been around for millions of years, and they and the planet evolved together. If cows are now bad, so are deer, antelopes, sheep and goats. Fossil fuels are the major cause of CO2 in the atmosphere. Even with methane, the cultivation of rice releases methane, and so does the rotting of vegetation in wetlands (“marsh gas”).
 

Edited to say, apologies for butting in. I read along with this interesting thread most days, but seldom post.

greenbee

If you feed cows methane it reduces their methane output  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/18/cows-seaweed-methane-emissions-scientists I wonder whether it works for people too...

MrsCD

SuffolkSue, sorry to hear of your loss. Take care and look after yourself.

VJsmum

Blue_Doggy said:

VJsmum said:

I'm not saying this to be holier than thou as we have cow's milk in plastic supermarket containers but I'm not sure that any cow's milk is particularly environmentally friendly.   Forced calving, getting rid of the male calfs - not to mention the methane - all contribute.  

What is “forced calving”? Many male calves are now reared for British rose veal, or (if from a cross with a beef breed) reared for beef. And AI gives the option of sexed semen so that only or mainly female calves are born.
 

I’m never sure about the methane argument - ruminant animals have been around for millions of years, and they and the planet evolved together. If cows are now bad, so are deer, antelopes, sheep and goats. Fossil fuels are the major cause of CO2 in the atmosphere. Even with methane, the cultivation of rice releases methane, and so does the rotting of vegetation in wetlands (“marsh gas”).
 

Edited to say, apologies for butting in. I read along with this interesting thread most days, but seldom post.

I probably did not phrase it right (not unusual for me). The following link kind of says what i was trying to - evidently badly

Here are the 3 worst ethical issues of the dairy industry - Wholesome Culture - Blog

Also, as i said, I'm not casting aspersions.  We buy cow's milk in plastic from the supermarket so I can't talk but i don't believe it is that ethical an industry however the milk gets delivered - although of course buying local is always good.

LameWolf

Suffolksue said:

thank all ,as many of you know it was expected but still horrible.I miss him so much 
Lame wolf , they are certain that he didn’t have Parkinson’s ,just not sure what.
they hope to know in around 6 months time .I do so hope your DH is doing as well as possible 

Thank you, @Suffolksue DH is doing pretty well all things considered. He saw the neurologist a couple of weeks ago, and he's been told he can stay on the same dosage of Sinemet, so that's good news.

Be kind to yourself, my friend; of course you miss your man, and it doesn't matter if it was expected, it's still horrible when it happens. Sending you love and light.

greenbee

I caught a brief snippet of something on the radio today where farmers were talking about the increased costs associated with social distancing/testing for pickers (alongside the difficulty in getting hold of them). These will obviously impact on food prices. 

Blue_Doggy

VJsmum said:

Blue_Doggy said:

VJsmum said:

I'm not saying this to be holier than thou as we have cow's milk in plastic supermarket containers but I'm not sure that any cow's milk is particularly environmentally friendly.   Forced calving, getting rid of the male calfs - not to mention the methane - all contribute.  

What is “forced calving”? Many male calves are now reared for British rose veal, or (if from a cross with a beef breed) reared for beef. And AI gives the option of sexed semen so that only or mainly female calves are born.
 

I’m never sure about the methane argument - ruminant animals have been around for millions of years, and they and the planet evolved together. If cows are now bad, so are deer, antelopes, sheep and goats. Fossil fuels are the major cause of CO2 in the atmosphere. Even with methane, the cultivation of rice releases methane, and so does the rotting of vegetation in wetlands (“marsh gas”).
 

Edited to say, apologies for butting in. I read along with this interesting thread most days, but seldom post.

I probably did not phrase it right (not unusual for me). The following link kind of says what i was trying to - evidently badly

Here are the 3 worst ethical issues of the dairy industry - Wholesome Culture - Blog

Also, as i said, I'm not casting aspersions.  We buy cow's milk in plastic from the supermarket so I can't talk but i don't believe it is that ethical an industry however the milk gets delivered - although of course buying local is always good.

Thank you for the link. I’m not sure how relevant the information on there is for consumers in the UK, as the sourced information seems to be about US dairying practices, including the cited document from WWF. 

One statistic quoted, the amount of water used by each dairy cow in a day - 4,954 gallons - is taken from a US source, quoting US dairy practices, and includes water used to grow crops to be fed to the cattle, as well as water used in cleaning dairies and cattle housing facilities, not just the amount a cow drinks. 

In the UK, where most cattle graze in pastures for at least part  of the year, the water content of fresh grass meets part of the cow’s daily drinking water requirement of 30-155 litres a day (https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/water-advice-livestock-farmers a UK - specifically Northern Irish - government source)

See also (from the National Farmers Union) https://www.countrysideonline.co.uk/food-and-farming/feeding-the-nation/dairy/

If you want to buy milk from cows whose calves are kept with them and suckle from them, look at https://www.thecalfatfootdairy.co.uk/ they sell their milk by mail order (or used to, seems to be some glitch at present).

Sadly, a lot of what may be unpleasant and unethical about conventional milk production is the result of the drive for efficiency, and for making it possible for us consumers to buy milk and milk products whenever we want as cheaply as possible.

I apologise for the long post, but I hope you will find it useful. 

greenbee

Blue_Doggy said:

VJsmum said:

Blue_Doggy said:

VJsmum said:

I'm not saying this to be holier than thou as we have cow's milk in plastic supermarket containers but I'm not sure that any cow's milk is particularly environmentally friendly.   Forced calving, getting rid of the male calfs - not to mention the methane - all contribute.  

What is “forced calving”? Many male calves are now reared for British rose veal, or (if from a cross with a beef breed) reared for beef. And AI gives the option of sexed semen so that only or mainly female calves are born.
 

I’m never sure about the methane argument - ruminant animals have been around for millions of years, and they and the planet evolved together. If cows are now bad, so are deer, antelopes, sheep and goats. Fossil fuels are the major cause of CO2 in the atmosphere. Even with methane, the cultivation of rice releases methane, and so does the rotting of vegetation in wetlands (“marsh gas”).
 

Edited to say, apologies for butting in. I read along with this interesting thread most days, but seldom post.

I probably did not phrase it right (not unusual for me). The following link kind of says what i was trying to - evidently badly

Here are the 3 worst ethical issues of the dairy industry - Wholesome Culture - Blog

Also, as i said, I'm not casting aspersions.  We buy cow's milk in plastic from the supermarket so I can't talk but i don't believe it is that ethical an industry however the milk gets delivered - although of course buying local is always good.

Thank you for the link. I’m not sure how relevant the information on there is for consumers in the UK, as the sourced information seems to be about US dairying practices, including the cited document from WWF. 

One statistic quoted, the amount of water used by each dairy cow in a day - 4,954 gallons - is taken from a US source, quoting US dairy practices, and includes water used to grow crops to be fed to the cattle, as well as water used in cleaning dairies and cattle housing facilities, not just the amount a cow drinks. 

In the UK, where most cattle graze in pastures for at least part  of the year, the water content of fresh grass meets part of the cow’s daily drinking water requirement of 30-155 litres a day (https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/water-advice-livestock-farmers a UK - specifically Northern Irish - government source)

See also (from the National Farmers Union) https://www.countrysideonline.co.uk/food-and-farming/feeding-the-nation/dairy/

If you want to buy milk from cows whose calves are kept with them and suckle from them, look at https://www.thecalfatfootdairy.co.uk/ they sell their milk by mail order (or used to, seems to be some glitch at present).

Sadly, a lot of what may be unpleasant and unethical about conventional milk production is the result of the drive for efficiency, and for making it possible for us consumers to buy milk and milk products whenever we want as cheaply as possible.

I apologise for the long post, but I hope you will find it useful. 

Thanks for this @Blue_Doggy and @VJsMum - ethical issue are so complicated. There are always compromises to be made, so it's nice to be able to share information and discuss it. We may have different opinions and different priorities, but it always helps to have more information, and more viewpoints. I find I'm constantly adjusting my stance on a lot of things - I learn more, things change, priorities change. This resonated particularly today as it's been a work day full of data on diversity and sustainability and establishing what they mean to different people!