If you have a dog, you have probably heard of the legendary long-lasting treat called a bully stick. You might even be a regular user of it. But for a slight recap, bully sticks are beef bulls or steer, dried penis rods.
They became popular years ago, when people realised that these 100% single ingredient dog treats were very long lasting and enticing to their dogs, meaning they could preoccupy them most of the day while they were away, without the dog spoiling their main meal too much.
They also come with legendary dental benefits, mental stimulation and are highly digestible, unlike most plant-based dog treats.
It is true that you can make bully sticks out of any animal penis. However, since cow bully sticks are large, and the herds are large, they are relatively more available than other options.
Potential environmental impact issues
Livestock farming in general takes a fair number of resources, and cattle is no exception.
The three main issues that people concentrate on are:
- Deforestation
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Water usage
Deforestation
The clearing of land also has greenhouse issues. We appreciate this and understand concerns. However, the way we see it, is that vegans and vegetarians who have a vested interest in banning ALL meat, are looking to shut down all allied industries, rather than seek solutions.
Many farmers are aware that there is a community sensitivity to farming practices, but not all humans are interested in giving up meat, because for a long-time humans’ have been omnivores (after originally converting from being almost all carnivore).
We agree that large scale deforestation is bad, however much of the deforestation is for things like palm oil, or plant crops NOT involved in the manufacture of Meat food.
And these plant species that are planted often have a more efficient crop alternatives or fast-growing alternatives that could be used instead of widespread clearing. For instance, bamboo use instead of growing trees etc.
The other consideration is that the increase in land clearing often is a population growth issue, NOT because of increased use per person on the planet currently.
There are many factors involved in the clearing of land (from greedy corporations, to irresponsible governments). It is not as simple as meat or no meat.
Greenhouse gas emissions of herds
This has to do with the incomplete digestion of cattle, not just the total number of herds. And again, many farmers and scientific organisation are working on how to reduce methane gas emissions. From genetic changes to crops, to increasing the efficiency of cattle digestion processes.
If these fixes, used in conjunction can have a major positive impact on methane production we are all for it.
Water usage
Water is used in the process of raising cattle.
From cattle drinking, feed crops for them to eat, and processing.
Until water is given a substantial price tag per volume consumed by farms, it won’t become a priority. Unfortunately, the real price of water has been hidden for years, as successive political parties worry more about re-election, than the environment. When water is properly priced, it is more likely to be recycled or used efficiently.
And even with new laws passed, in many countries we have found that many farmers have by-passed water counting technology (issued to keep within their quotas) and increase flood plain harvesting that has caused the death of many river systems.
Another thought is about corporations gifting large sums of money to political parties to turn a blind eye to illegal practices. We also know that cotton production is massively water intensive, and there are many substitutes, however cotton farms generate a lot of money and that has led to widespread corruption in the past as far as water usage is concerned.
I for one, would rather science finding solutions to cotton alternatives than give up a natural food product such as meat.
The real bully stick sustainability issue
If the problems raised above are allowed to be solved, then they shouldn’t be the hardest issue to gain zero emission targets (mitigated with tree planting and other Co2 sinks etc). Change over to sustainable energy sources etc.
But let’s consider what the underlying issue with bully sticks really are.
Food security laws and the rise of bully stick scarcity.
Not all countries have strong food security or energy security laws. Considering how clean and good many ‘first world’ countries food and dog treats are considered, that seems more than a little surprising. Without limits on export, ensuring adequate levels and prices of meat in a Country, developing countries can strip the growing countries bare of resources. Its all about the money, not the ethics.
We heavily back animal-based dog treats because the protein and fats are most appropriate for dogs. It’s a shame that more owners don’t voice their concerns to their governments ensuring that their dogs have a suitable level of meat available for dog food and dog treats at prices that the average owner can afford.
But massive increases in meat dog treat prices are what we have witnessed in the last ten years.
Farmers have a strong political voice. This means that during good times, they export as much meat as they can sell overseas. Sometimes at not a large margin. During drought times, many of those farms have access to a large pool of money to keep going – as they are seen as a necessary industry.
But without food security laws or export limits, this means that many farms will over export product in good times, making money on the total volume exported (even at relatively lower prices), and then INCREASE the price of meat to people in their own country!
If the cost of a whole bull increases substantially, so does the cost of beef dog treats, made from the left-over parts of the bull.
When you consider that many countries consider themselves to be mainly middle class, then you can see how a slight rise in the quality of living in countries such as China and India (each with over 1000 million people) – that the demand for quality food from America has sky rocketed.
You might find exactly the same thing happening in Europe?
Added to this issue of virtually unrestricted exporting of food (AND DOG TREATS from Large corporates), is the voodoo of bully sticks containing some magical sexual power for those men who eat it.
While this belief seems restricted to China and other Asian countries, it is becoming the major reason for scarcity of bully sticks and big price hikes.
CONCLUSIONS
Bully sticks are a great long lasting single ingredient dog treat. The environmental concerns are hiding the cause of those issues – like unrestricted exporting and lack of restricting tree clearing and water plain harvesting for products that have natural substitutes.
Dogs need meat. Bully sticks provide that important set of amino acids that greatly substitute dog food. If you are willing to give up on meat dog treats, then perhaps consider how much dogs consume compared to humans. That doesn’t really seem fair, does it?
