Current Issue | Alumni News | Archives | Alumni Western Advertise | Contact | Subscribe | Login

Fall 2011 issue

Letters to the Editor

RSS

Here’s the beef…

Re: Consumer Guide, Spring/Summer 2011
Print: Printer Friendly Share: Email:

Regarding the article on page 38 of the Spring-Summer Alumni Gazette (“Five ways to make your footprint smaller”) there is a statement that cannot go unchallenged. Namely, that it takes 100,000 litres of water to produce a kilogram of beef. Assuming that a yearling steer dresses out at 200 kg, that would require 20 million litres of water or 54,794 litres per day!

This is about 180 times the gross weight of the steer. Even assuming that three-quarters of the water is used in irrigation and at the packing plant, this is still a ludicrous figure.

Marlow et al. at Loma Linda University (a staunch advocate of vegetarianism) did a comprehensive study based on 11 vegetarian foodstuffs and found that the average nonvegetarian diet consumed 2.9 times more water than the vegetarian one (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009; 89: 1699S). This is a much more believable figure. Care must be taken in matters such as this as figures can be widely quoted and used to promote other agendas.

Dr. R.B. Philp , DVM, PhD
Professor Emeritus , Physiology & Pharmacology
Print: Printer Friendly Share: Email:
Give Now

Campus Quotes

Image: Sarah Richardson
"Don’t ever underestimate the importance of a liberal arts degree."
Sarah Richardson, BA'93, , co-creator/co-producer of five home design television series on HGTV; Young Alumni Award winner, at the 37th Annual Alumni Awards Dinner, Sept. 30, 2011
Image: Roberta Jamieson
"We have become a country that is willing to embrace its past and to act to build a future together."
Roberta Jamieson, LLB’76, President & CEO, National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, receiving Western Law's Community Service Award, Oct. 20, 2011
Image: Michael J. Fox
"If you hit a wall, fine. Go around the wall and find a door and go through to the other side and carry on."
Michael J. Fox, actor and founder of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, spoke at the Leaders in Innovation Dinner marking the 25th anniversary of Robarts Research Institute at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Nov. 21.
Image: Maya Angelou
"It is a wonderful thing to be at this university and know that it is a rainbow in the clouds."
Maya Angelou, acclaimed poet and autobiographer, at a talk in Alumni Hall, presented by the Arts & Humanities Students’ Council and the University Students’ Council, Nov. 3, 2011
Image: Larry Haylor
"I’ve been honoured to be a guardian of the Western legacy and I’ve been proud to lead young men coming to Western to pursue their student athlete dreams."
Larry Haylor, Mustang football builder/head coach (1984-2006); ‘W’ Club Hall of Fame inductee, at the 37th Annual Alumni Awards Dinner, Sept. 30, 2011
Image: Justin Trudeau
"Politicians usually say you are the 'leaders of tomorrow.' I don't like that. You need to make an impact today. Everything you do makes a difference."
Justin Trudeau, MP and federal Liberal critic for youth, post-secondary education and amateur sport, speaking to students at The Spoke, Oct. 12, 2011
Image: Heather Hiscox
"Journalism is an entrée, a free pass to slip into other people’s skins for a brief moment and to witness there the full expression of human nature, from honour to evil and everything in between."
Heather Hiscox, MA'87 (Journalism), LLD'11, CBC News Morning anchor, receiving her honorary degree at Western’s 298th Convocation, Oct. 28, 2011
Image: Bruce Ross
"A couple things engineering taught me: one was a deep curiosity for how things work and how they can work better; and two, was solving problems."
Bruce Ross, BESc'85, IBM President, at the IBM Centennial Lecture, Oct. 12, 2011

Alumni Events

All Alumni Events