This is a Gather forum for discussing religion and spirituality. Sharing our spiritual beliefs is one small step towards building a better world.
This ongoing discussion began in June, 2008 with the publication of the Losing Your Religion Series.
The discussion rules are the same as on earlier posts:
1. Share your spiritual and religious beliefs but respect the beliefs of other participants.
2. LISTEN carefully and try to see other participants' points of view, no matter how different from your own.
3. Please don't "preach" or attempt to convert anyone else to your viewpoint.
Episode 130
Photo Credits: Thanks to Boris G. for keeping this series supplied with great images.
Footprints
Frequent contributor to the LYR group, Richard Regener asks the question, “Have you ever considered what the foot prints of your life will leave behind for future generations?”
This question has me looking both backward, at the legacy left by my father, and forward, at the legacy I will leave for my children.
When I think of my father, I see positive lessons and examples that I have internalized and strive to emulate and pass on to my children. I also see what might be called negative lessons; behaviors that did not serve him well and that are best avoided. I suspect that a serious examination of the footprints that we have left behind leave many of us with trails that we are proud of as well as false starts and detours that we would prefer to hide or deny.
I used to be a Regional Sales Manager, a job that paid very well but required me to travel extensively, sometimes spending as many as 15 nights a month away from home. While traveling in California, one of my children was injured at school, a broken leg. I cut my trip short and returned home as quickly as I could; only to be admonished by my wife,
“ You’re never here when I need you”.
Not long after that I was laid off. I followed up on an invitation to go to work for a local distributor who used to represent my company. During the interview, I told him, “I don’t ever want to have to choose between caring for my family and providing for my family.” He assured me that that would not be a problem and in the nearly 10 years since, it never has been.
Sometime later, the company experienced some setbacks that substantially impacted our revenue stream. Foresight suggested that the reduction could eventually result in layoffs. Because of some other challenges at home, I went to the boss and offered to cut back my hours at a corresponding reduction in pay. He resisted at first but eventually took me up on my offer.
As a result I have been able to spend a lot of quality time with my children, an opportunity I would not trade for anything.
In his article, Richard tells the story of a man who made very different choices with very different results. He concludes;
“Is this the attitude and future you want for your descendants? The fact is that you have the power to change the future by saying enough is enough and acting on those instincts. On the other hand you can also do nothing and allow our past to continue to dictate our future extremes of perpetual ignorance relating to the consequences of our actions.
Consider this thought. If reincarnation was a known fact rather than just an idea and the above could be your future, is this the future you would want for yourself? "
LYR has examined many topics since its inception, many of which examine personnel choice and change. Today, we ask about the footprints you leave behind. Which will stand the test of time and which will wash away on the next tide?
More importantly we ask about the trail not yet blazed.
Where are you going?
One who walks in another's tracks
leaves no footprints.
Proverb
Richard’s article can
be found here: Footprints
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977847058
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Comments: 364
Nice hat, btw. You look so serious, though, for someone playing on the lake.
Belatedly asking but couldn't find a place to slip in a comment before:
I can respect your doing that but it does seem like some one so totally devoted that the thinking gets trumped. I (and perhaps others) who are unable to do that can appreciate the poetry in the bible but I'm unable to swallow some of what's purported to be God's words.
Best regards,
Is it too much of a truism to point out that as soon as we set up " the other side", "us and them", we set up the dynamics for offense and defense. If there's fear involved, it will bring out our defensiveness and that usually leads to hostility. I love how the present administration, unlike the Bush people, are making noises about talking with those perceived as unfriendly to try to establish common interests in the effort to further better understanding and relations.
www.nopom.info
Of course I doubt anyone reading this will believe me. Sigh.
You are quite correct. Money and the concentrations of power it makes possible are the problem. The solution is to change the fundamental nature of our money while retaining its functions as a medium of exchange and standard unit of account. If you can steel yourself to actually read the novel, you will find it quite pleasant and optimistic. :-)
I have been going that way for over 40 years. But if you were alive in Europe during the 14th century and the plague was sweeping toward your community, knowing what you know now, would you just stand by and let the people die or would you try to explain to them the germ theory so they could protect themselves?
I have the idea that can save humanity and the nation and my community. I expect to be reviled and rejected. But if I didn't try to save even those ungrateful S.O.B.s who insult and revile me, I would be worse than the lowest of them. My knowledge is a huge obligation that cannot let me rest.
As I always contend, there is nothing that is 100% negative or positive, setting up a duality that stops conversation and thinking. Money and power certainly can have their positive aspects if applied appropriately and with thought given as to the effects of that application. Can it be denied that good leaders weilding good ideas can effect good results for their people and institutions? Can money not be used in productive socially beneficial ways? It greatly depends on wise, social-minded applications that will benefit the many, not only a small number of avaricious and uncaring people. There are models for both sides and the ones we remember have been exemplars of both the positive and the negative. We praise those who attempt to benefit the many.
Best regards and good luck, Aloha,
The Whole Earth Catalog Online.
Not being facetious, only underlining what I said about resorting to any and all ways to get the attention you want, really want:
1) If you think of marketing, think of what sells: comedy; exposure (even negative--try getting the book banned; getting out in public, not just letting the books sit there--hawking the book from a van or on the corner by the church; and of course sex. If you can get an angle, a gimmick this may help.
Are you up for a stand-up routine? Nobody said saving the world has to be only serious. Comedy attracts attn and doesn't have to be cheesy.
Can you frame your message as a short movie you film with a cam-corder, as entertaining as possible without losing your integrity.
I hope I don't insult your intelligence. My objective is to help and branstorm, to see if your message will be received in other ways. Don't think the world will come to your doorstep. Bookselling means hustling, if you don't already know. Have you posted it online?
Best of luck, aloha,
The book is online. I posted the complete novel here on Gather. One of the readers is helping let the world know and created a web site for the purpose at www.nopom.info. There are quite a few other articles there as well, exploring various aspects of the problems we face and the solution I propose.
A fellow Gatherite (Perry Gruber) presents inspirational talks on the subject in Oregon. He also has a friend there working on a screenplay.
Lydia Shelley here on gather is writing and performing songs on the subject.
There are some computer science students here who are completing some course requirements creating a simulation facebook game based on the idea but they have moved the time back to the early middle ages. (I suppose magic will be involved in simulating the computer accounts. :-)
In other words, as word of the idea spreads we are gathering more and more people who see this solution as our only real hope. Each person works in his own way to spread the idea. Since the online version of the book is freely available, I don't think anyone is out any money to do so as yet for which I am thankful.
Oh, by the way, the novel, which explains in considerable detail how the solution works, is science fiction set in the near future. Oddly enough, the book has the solution first adopted to take effect January 1, 2013, very near the "end of the world as we know it" prophesies I have been hearing about lately. (That's just a coincidence, I think.) Those who have read the novel (see the comments here on Gather,for example) find it quite easy and fun to read.
Please check it out. :-)
I understand what you mean, and how right you are in your message.... unfortunately, most people aren't ready for your kind of insight, and that is frustrating. Nothing worse than seeing what's causing all the problems, only to have everyone not want to hear or see what you portend... this kind of knowing is not to be learned in your lifetime... you are ahead of yours. This, I know.:)
Are you able to join me in spreading the word? It truly is gospel, that is, "good news." We can be saved from ourselves. Can you do something to get others to discover what I have found? There really is hope for a tomorrow far better than today if only we will look, see, and understand. It isn't as if we were dieting, or giving up cigarettes. The solution is more than comfortable, it is a vast relief. It will shower everyone with benefits, rich and poor alike.
I can do no more than what you can do.... people will hear what they want, when they want.
Jerry,
You are in the same boat. Your concept most certainly has value... but again, you can't MAKE people hear you. They either will, or they won't, and they most likely won't hear any of us until our time has passed.
No footprint will stand the true test of time because our existence...the existence of our universe is a blink of the eye....an infinitesimally small fraction of time.
But from the perspective of the few thousand years of man's existence and the few thousand more that man will exist (maybe)...I think the best we can do is disturb our planet as little as possible and when possible...apologize to her by giving back what we can of what we have stolen....allowing her to heal herself.
I understand that Bill's question of footprint is about the personal legacy we will leave, and about our personal accountability. For me, it boils down this this...
"Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do" -- Voltaire
(If it was only through children that a footprint were left, you couldn't quite answer that question, though. Your children would have to have children themselves, and so on... Or else yours would be gone, too, wouldn't it?.
If we could learn from everyone else's mistakes, there would be no hate, no war, no rape... history would not repeat itself... yet our footprints seem inclined to follow, not forge........
what if god, therefore is an alien life force? All this religion stuff seems to be associated with this planet, if there is life on other planets what do you think their belief systems would be?
From my study of information sourced outside of this planet, there is a galactic code that all advanced societies adhere to ... and it is my understanding of that code that informs me to why I came up with my view about the differences between GOD, God(s), and gods.
I suspect that many planets have their own unique systems of thought according to their history and countless other factors that I could never begin to speculate upon. But the Urantia Book speaks of some of that to the degree that it says there are other planets very similar to our own, some much more advanced and some lagging in certain ways, but that our planet is extremely unique due to our history related around the concept of our "fall" from grace indicated by the Edenic story.
From the same "sources" that I have read, it is mentioned that our planet has been "quarantined" for ages now, off limits to other galactic civilizations ... we are a special experiment, that needs more time to mature and play itself out in that direction, we are off limits ... yet we have been visited by entities renegade to the galactic rules and intentions ... (the source of many "visitations", UFO sightings, and other more strange happenings reported) ... there will always be a certain "criminal" element in creation.
What we need to decide is which is more important, the universal view of footprints, or the individuals. In that decision we decide the direction of our path.
Being a an artist with a spiritual Awakening, having a vision of life and the world I envision as "better, more beautiful", I conduct my life to bring that vision about to actualtiy with the puny efforts I am enabled to make. Being a visionary should not mean only having visions that are seen only by one's own self but if beautiful enough, should be considered worthwhile enough so as to be actualized with whatever it takes in whatever form that makes the most impact so others can share and hlep to support that effort.
I hope my footprint will leave behind a trail of beauty, a "better" more beautiful world for future generations to enjoy. This gives my work impetus to continue.
(Tried but was unable to delete this from previous thread.)
Awakening manifesto
I'd like to build the world a homeand furnish it with love,
Grow apple trees and honey bees and snow white turtle doves;
I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony,
I'd like to hold it in my arms and keep it company.
I'd like to see the world for once all standing hand in hand
And hear them echo through the hills for peace throuout the land!
That's the song I hear, let the world sing today
A song of peace that echoes on and never goes away.
If you're interested in a song or poem, go to Google and type one of the lines into the search engine. You'll usually get enough hits to tell you everything you want to know.
I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) Composer: B. Backer; B. Davis; R. Greenaway; R. Cook
Lea, that cute and talented performer, only made a recording of it.
A brief excerpt from the United Methodist Social Principles regarding the natural world reads:
All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God’s creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings. God has granted us stewardship of creation. We should meet these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect. Economic, political, social, and technological developments have increased our human numbers, and lengthened and enriched our lives. However, these developments have led to regional defoliation, dramatic extinction of species, massive human suffering, overpopulation, and misuse and overconsumption of natural and nonrenewable resources, particularly by industrialized societies. This continued course of action jeopardizes the natural heritage that God has entrusted to all generations. Therefore, let us recognize the responsibility of the church and its members to place a high priority on changes in economic, political, social, and technological lifestyles to support a more ecologically equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality of life for all of God’s creation. (See also the same link for the social principles statement on economic justice.)
Here is a list of some of the coalitions that the UM Economic and Environmental Justice Work Area is connected to:
Alaska Coalition
...has over 700 conservation, sporting, labor and religious groups working together to protect wild public lands in Alaska. A project of the Alaska Conservation Foundation, the Coalition’s priorities include protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Chugach and Tongass National Forests. Website
Alliance for Fair Food
...is a network of human rights, religious, student, labor, sustainable food and agriculture, environmental and grassroots organizations who work to promote principles and practices of socially responsible purchasing in the corporate food industry that advance and ensure the human rights of farmworkers. Website
Ecumenical Eco-Justice Network
...provides educational information on environmental and ecological issues from the Christian faith perspective. The Network produces the publication “Between the Flood and the Rainbow” which provides periodic updates on a range of eco-justice issues. The Network has been less active in recent years, although leaders continue to contribute to the activities of the National Council of Churches’ Eco-Justice Working Group. Website
Fair Labor Association
...is a non-profit organization combining the efforts of industry, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), colleges and universities to promote adherence to international labor standards and improve working conditions worldwide. Website
Informed Meetings Exchange (INMEX)
...was formed as a network of labor, environmental, religious and other non-profit organizations to assist in planning socially responsible meetings. Website:
Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
...is a thirty-year-old coalition of over 250 faith-based institutional investors including denominations, pension funds, healthcare corporations, and foundations. The ICCR helps coalition members connect social values with investment decisions and use investments and other resources, including shareholder resolutions, to change unjust or harmful corporate policies focusing on peace, economic justice and stewardship of God’s creation. Website
National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
...shapes national policies to foster a sustainable food and agriculture system. The Network is an alliance of hundreds of grassroots, state, regional and national organizations including representatives from family farms, rural and urban communities, environmental and wildlife advocates, workers, students, indigenous peoples and faith-based organizations. Website
National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM)
...is an interfaith organization that supports farm workers as they organize for empowerment, justice, and equality. Begun in 1920 as a ministry of charity and service, NFWM became the vehicle for the religious community to answer United Farm Workers founder César Chávez’s call to change its emphasis from charity to justice. NFWM brings together national denominations, state councils of churches, religious orders and congregations, and concerned individuals to act with the farm workers to achieve fundamental change in their living and working conditions. Website
National Low Income Housing Coalition
...is dedicated solely to ending America’s affordable housing crisis. The Coalition focuses its advocacy on those with the most serious housing problems, the lowest income households. Website
National Neighborhood Coalition
...serves as a link to Washington for neighborhood and community-based organizations. The Coalition also serves as a networking resource for representatives of regional and national organizations involved in community development, housing and a wide range of other neighborhood issues. Website
National Youth Employment Coalition
...works to ensure every young person is assured the full range of educational, developmental, vocational, economic and social opportunities. Website
Rural Coalition
...is an alliance of regionally and culturally diverse organizations working to build a more just and sustainable food system. The focus of the Coalition’s efforts are to bring fair returns to minority and other small farmers and rural communities, to ensure just and fair working conditions for farmworkers, to protect the environment, and to deliver safe and healthy food to consumers. Website
Our local congregation sends significant monies (high five figures) in apportionments to the connectional church, much of it in support of worldwide relief and development work. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) was, and is still instrumental in coordinating the efforts of hundreds of thousands of volunteers involved in Katrina recovery on the Gulf coast. The UMC, the Roman Catholic church, the Presbyterians and others are playing a big role down there, even today. Our church has sent about 10 separate teams of volunteers down there since Katrina. UMCOR's reach is global--follow the link for more.
The denomination is effective in direct relief efforts and in areas such as responsible investment choices for things like its retirement funds. In the policy arena, the consortium efforts do raise consciousness toward socially-responsible public action, but there are a lot of players in that arena. Take your pick--the NRA, or the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence? Getting involved in any of these efforts is as simple as clicking one of the links.
'TY for your great response. Bless you, your kids and congregation!
Aloha,
All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God’s creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings.
Beautifully said. Buddhists can get behind that statement.
Bill Clinton made the assertion that things will become a lot better when he stumped for global free trade. As we see it's been a mixed blessing. Economic change and improvements take a while to kick in and critics are often too impatient to see signs of it. How long can misery wait? I submit that improvement will come about depending on the leadership and governments of the countries involved. Good governance and enlightened un-self-aggrandizing leaders will certainly help to improve conditions. Not till those factors come about, IMO.
The chance is that the world they will inherit may not be such a great one, with the irresponsible legacy of debt, degradation of the environment and all the rest of the woes we their forebears are leaving them. If we can dig ourselves out of the morass we've gotten into, that will be helpful. We've got a whole lot of shoveling to do.
Another thought re: children as a legacy is that there are no guarantees they'll prove to be the kind of socially responsible people we'd like to have around without we ourselves, each one of us, being the kind of models that will bring about those kinds of individuals. Seems like a lot of parents haven't been doing such a great job and have turned out kids who create more problems than anything else. Teaching your children well means showing them the way to creating a world of loving peacefulness for all, living up to priinciples that promote that.
"Seems like a lot of parents haven't been doing such a great job ...."
We determine our behavior and and our intentions but we cannot control other's perceptions. A single set of parents can have several children that manifest good character and still have another that is an apparent bad seed. Does that occur because of something the parent did, a mis-perception by the child or something else all together?
Is it only a matter of the luck of the draw, bad seed and genetics, chemistry or what? Childhood influences are a big factor, even the messages infants receive as soon as they're out in the world--too hot, too cold, too rough, colic, even too much loving--being bothered by doting adults. It's all a very iffy thing. What produces a homicidal killer, a saint?
I don't want to end that negatively. Anybody have more positive things to say about bringing up kids, influencing them positively? Monkeys see and monkeys do, right?
Is it too much to expect that an agreed upon universal spiritual code, devoid of any ecumenical influence, would go far in bringing about a lasting guide for generations everlasting to behave in more peaceable ways? It seems to me that to be able to expose, truly educate and indoctrinate every human being to that wisdom would be very helpful in bringing about a peaceful world. Any infractions of the wisdom's understanding would mean a taking a refresher course in Perennial Wisdom's tenets until understanding is assured. No more war and violence, murder, environmental degredation and profiting from harm done to others. Too much a pipe dream? Imagine all the people living in that dream!
Well, it keeps all those people busy chanting from getting into mischief, no? To be serious, it can't hurt. Just think, if everybody was chanting at the same time, say for a couple of hours, the whole world would be at peace in that time span. Universal peace, that's what we need. How about a universal Meditation Hour everybody at the same appropriately designated hour in each time zone, monthly for starters till it became a common universal practice? Stop the fighting, the bombing, the wars, the money-grubbing--, everybody get down and meditate! Just one hour each month isn't too much to ask, IMO, don't you think?
As a member of a missional denomination, I also free-associated about an event called One Great Hour of Sharing, typically held the third or fourth week of Lent, which is observed in a whole range of denominations, including the American Baptist Churches USA, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Church of the Brethren, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America, United Church of Christ, The United Methodist Church, Church World Service, and in a slightly different form in the Roman Catholic Church.
That hour is a time shared by millions of American Christians who consider, pray about, and offer support to world development and relief efforts through organizations like the United Methodist Committee on Relief and Church World Service, and others (the denominational links above provide more details).
It totally mystifies me and lines what Jung said about people doing everything to avoid understanding themselves or something like that. It seems that being quiet for these people is a negative, and that it means conflating church and state to say anyone should enforce a quiet time in schools or at public, maybe political gatherings as if merely to settle down, gather thoughts and reflect a bit should not be at all encouraged in public. ??
If you followed the link to One Great Hour of Sharing above, you saw that the first one was a nationally-broadcast event kicked off by President Harry Truman. Presidents don't do that sort of thing any more--it's more likely to be Bono.
Maybe you're the next Bono, Frank. Let's set a date and see how many people we can get to pause and meditate on world peace!
One thing I've noticed is, our perception of our parents' footprints changes over time. Part of it is the old saw: "As I get older, my parents get smarter."
But there's more to it than that. A lot of stuff my parents tried to teach me has not stood the test of time. They had pretty rigid expectations about gender roles, social roles, race relations... so many certainties that the future just trampled on and moved past.
And yet, at the core, they were the kind of people I want to be. They worked hard and didn't look either for glory or for shortcuts. They were generous to anyone in need, and kind to animals, neighbors, kids, strangers... just about everyone really. They faced adversity, and ultimately death, with courage and humor.
I guess I hope that, even if my daughter discards everything I've ever said to her, that she'll look back one day on our character, mine and my husband's, and say, "My parents were, at the core, the kind of people I want to be."
Very humbling thought for someone who likes words as much as I do...
Change is the most consistent occurrance....
We have had extensive conversations here about climate change and possible remedies. any remedy that can actually produce a reduction in green house gas emissions will also produce substantial declines in employment in oil and gas exploration and production.
I really do like my morning newspaper but I recently cancelled my subscription due to customer service issues. I wrote a letter outlining my complaints and received no response. They deserve to go belly up if they can't figure out how to insure that my paper lands on my grass where it doesn't get wet rather than my driveway where it does.
1) stem cells can be taken from placentae, so save any from your new babies that can be frozen, just in case. Automatic compatability. ("All Things Considered" show)
2) an innovative liquid metal battery developed at MIT was winner of a competition, hope for a viable battery for our new electric cars ("Living on Earth")
3) Brahms wrote his "Double Concerto" to attempt to heal a damaged friendship with the violinist of the first performance. ("Performance Today")
4) The US is adopting "American Clean Energy Act" as the name for that agency without use of the terms "Climate Change" or "Global Warming". (Living on Earth)
5) How to make recession busting ramen ("All Things Considered")
6) Who are the rising Republican stars? (ibid)
7) Google's upsides and down ("Fresh Air")
8) The state of the ocean and fish population--dire! ("Fresh Air")
9) How to get wildbirds to eat from your hand, with walnut meats ("Living on Earth")
10) Nature returning to the area where the Berlin Wall stood (ibid)
Check out NPR, enlightening radio!
Here is why I do not think about it. Instead, I concentrate on trying to live within the present ... the now ... and I work hard at making the changes within to be the best that I can be today. I have many changes to make and that does take up my time, that is not a joke but how I live. I guess that I believe that posterity will take care of itself. Or, if I do the best that I can today ... tomorrow will be better for myself and others.
My answer is no. I say no because I view Christ as perfection. I think that those who follow him need to change. I believe that is the challenge to each who embraces him.
I sure do wish those who profess to follow him as a Him, would take the time to read the Urantia Book section (available on line as: THE URANTIA BOOK PART IV: THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS
) that completely chronicles his life with a diary type layout almost ... a day by day story that includes so much of what he really thought and intended ... but of course I understand their "fear" of stepping outside of the "authorized only" stories held in their "Book" only.
If you cannot see beyond your own life towards a future, then of what value is your life?
Some artists have given society so much after they were dead (and their work finally "discovered.") Sometimes positing an afterlife (where they could reap the karmic rewards) is the only way to make things seem fair.
It's maybe no comfort at all to dead artists, but no aspiring artist should get involved with art if fame and fortune are their main concerns. What really needs to be considered is if you're really talented enough to face the test of maybe long years of disregard and discouragement, and need to have a way to support your pleasure and hopes. Very fortunate and relatively few make it big. Teaching or day jobs are a must. As we know life isn't always fair. Posthumous fame isn't so bad, I'll gladly take it but don't count on it. I just consider my life in art has been a great ride and feel grateful having had it, the downs with the lovely upsides.
The author also talked about the downside of beef consumption, not only the health issues, but the huge carbon footprint and degredation of the land and the cost of producing a pound of meat not commensurate to the enormous cost of feed and packing the meat. Seems a very counter-intuitive, counterproductive effort we need to really rethink and retrench, don't you think? Cut back on beef consumption seems a good tack for the environment and your health.
"EPA scientists recognize that beef production contributes only 2 percent of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions compared to 80 percent for fossil fuel consumption."
Hmmm.
The heart of the problem dictates that we must minimize our carbon footprint and some of the agriculture practices. Some of our consuming habits produce a heavier carbon footprint than others. To address climate warming conditions, we need to address our counter-productive practices and the agro-businesses has gotten a big pass so far. The mega pig and chicken farms are also contributing to a lot of pollution. We consumers are part of that problem, part of the equation is our having the voracious appetites we have but we gotta eat, right? Our future is dependent on our personal and collective choices.
I understand that buffalo don't eat the roots of grass and therefore are more benign grazers. They move on to greener pastures when the grass is gone allowing the mowed land to regrow. Goats and sheep eat everything, leave nothing left to grow. It's not only about a lighter carbon footprint but about the depredation of the land flora.
Another important factor is that the grazing of grass land cause a deep root formation of the grasses which allows the grasses to absorb minerals and micro nutrients that have been depleted in crop lands. The health of the soil is restored and the decaying organic matter feed the micro organisms and reestablish the bio diversity that is essential for elimination of diseases and pest outbreaks....lessening or eliminating the need for chemical pest controls.
Also, more than half of our total grain crops go to feed livestock. If we can convert half of our current 150 million acres of crop land to permanent pastures we can maintain the same level of animal protein production without the use of chemical fertilizers and with far less water use. The beef animals will be healthier and more healthful for our consumption.
It's not only about the carbon footprint and about degradation of the land, but also about feeding the world's population, as Frank is suggesting here. The development of a worldwide "corporate food system" has created a situation where poor grain-producing countries must compete for their own food on a world market that is heavily driven by beef production and importation of "luxury" food by first-world countries. While North American and European consumers get around a third of their calories from animal products, in parts of Asia outside Japan and China it's less than six percent. (Source: John W. Warnock, The Politics of Hunger, p. 145) Production of land- and grain-intensive meat products, coupled with world trade policies, dramatically affect world hunger. Concepts of sustainable and "green" agriculture and "food first" trade policies must play a part in keeping people fed.