Peter Ballerstedt Profile picture
Forage agronomist: Ruminant agric; human diet & health. Opinions are my own, not of the organizations I am affiliated with. Intro video https://t.co/npOUlvjr2a
Jun 20, 2022 5 tweets 4 min read
Jun 7, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
In case it comes up -
96% of the feed consumed by domesticated ruminants is NOT human-edible. The grains that are fed amounts to 7% of 2018 global cereal production. #Upcycling #FoodSecurity #EssentialNutrition #SustainableFood
1/4 83% of all livestock feed is consumed by ruminants, which can utilize resources humans cannot consume directly.
86% of the feed consumed by all livestock is NOT human edible. This amount of grain is 26% of 2018 global cereal production.
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Jun 5, 2022 5 tweets 3 min read
The theme for #WorldEnvironmentDay2022 is "Only One Earth." Let's consider the essential role that #ruminants play in global food production and the unique ecological advantages they offer. First, what's a ruminant?
1/3 Image The vast majority of our one Earth's surface is unsuited for the production of plant source foods. But it can produce plant fiber that ruminant animals are uniquely capable of using - converting a resource humans cannot utilize into food of highest nutritive quality.
2/3 Image
Mar 8, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Why it's important to know what *they* mean by the phrase "nutrient dense."
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans' third suggestion to "make every bite count" - Image You might think you know what they mean by "nutrient dense," but let's check. So #dairy & #meat only qualify if they're low-fat because naturally-occurring animal fats are not nutrients, per DGA. Lettuce, a vegetable, does, per DGA. Does this fit your definition? Image
Nov 30, 2021 8 tweets 3 min read
Might be time to question your proposed solutions... ? Why getting the thinking of the High-Income Country's nutrition establishment sorted out on metabolic health and non-communicable diseases matters to the 85% of humanity living in Low- & Middle-Income countries. Previous graphic from globalnutritionreport.org/reports/2021-g…
Read it to understand their mindset & world view.
How can the knowledge of human nutrition and metabolic health be incorporated into the global efforts? Imagine the possible impacts...
Aug 28, 2021 6 tweets 4 min read
1/4 Preparing for next week...
So, per #ipccreport2021, the effect of enteric CH4 emissions from stable herds has been overstated (and CH4 from fossil fuels similarly underestimated).
IPCC. 2021. AR6. Ch 6 ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1… p 123 @FarmersDefence @GHGGuru @UCDavisCLEAR 2/4 And yet, even with this OVERESTIMATE, accounting emissions for the amount of foods needed to provide essential nutrients dramatically shifts the narrative. Now divide the beef or milk by 3...
@TyRBeal
Jul 5, 2021 4 tweets 2 min read
Where is the carbon in grasslands ("The upside-down forest").
An example of the distribution of carbon (C) stocks in the semiarid, shortgrass steppe ecosystems to 1 meter depth. 1/4 2/4
Values are in kilograms per hectare, values in parentheses are turnover times of component pools.
94% below-ground
<15% below-ground C is “active"
Sanderson et al. 2020. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. jswconline.org/content/75/1/5A
Jun 17, 2021 9 tweets 4 min read
Thread on #lysine #upcycling #ruminants
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Only 4% of the feed consumed by the global domestic ruminant herd is *potentially* human-utilizable. The upcycling of the other 96% into resources that are essential to modern (& future) societies is under-appreciated. 2/9
Note:
- The grain fed represents only 10% of the global cereal production.
- 1/4 of the grain fed is off-grade & not human edible.
Source for this & previous slide.
Mottet, et al., (2018) cambridge.org/core/journals/…
Jun 16, 2021 4 tweets 2 min read
Herdmates, it's time to dive into the rumen and its microbiome. Not literally, of course. That would be nasty.
(Thank you, Dr, Eenennaam, for the image)
@BioBeef
1/4 Tim A McAllister, PhD is Episode 62's guest. Dr. McAllister is a Research Scientist in Ruminant Nutrition & Microbiology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Watch -
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Jan 20, 2021 7 tweets 3 min read
1/6
In case it comes up.
Global sector percentages of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions should not be used in discussions of individual country's sectors.
epa.gov/ghgemissions/g… 2/6
The %s in the US (which contributes 15% of the global total) looks very different than the global total for a number of reasons: Nature of economy; Population; Efficiency of ag; Fuel sources; Standard of living; etc.
epa.gov/ghgemissions/i…
Nov 30, 2020 16 tweets 6 min read
1/n Food for thought:
An understanding of metabolic health and a species appropriate diet hasn't informed conversations about sustainable health care. The "downstream" effects of food choices are usually informed by the received wisdom of the official "healthy diet."
What if: 2/n
So what if, just speculating wildly here, what if there was a way for people with T2D to stop using those medications? I know, that sounds like crazy-talk, but hear me out.

Big numbers and unfamiliar units are sometimes hard to visualize, so here's one equivalent:
Sep 27, 2020 14 tweets 8 min read
Real World vs biophobic #TechnoUtopianists.
1a
"Livestock are critical for sustainable development yet often overlooked. The world’s cows, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry and other farm animals are the mainstay of livelihoods across the developing world. ... "

@SimmonsBart Image 1b
"... And the energy and nutrient-dense milk, meat and eggs these animals produce provide hundreds of millions of families in the world’s poorer countries with basic livelihoods, incomes, food and nutrition."
whylivestockmatter.org Image
Sep 25, 2020 7 tweets 3 min read
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Food for Thought (especially for the rural #Ruminati):
“Diabetes prevalence is about 15 to 17 percent higher in rural areas than in urban areas..." 2/5
"in rural areas, the likelihood of dying due to diabetes-related hospitalizations was 3.4 percent higher in rural areas than in large central metropolitan areas..."
Sep 13, 2020 4 tweets 1 min read
People send me things. <Thank you Mary!>
Just eat "Real Food!" Image Image
Aug 25, 2020 4 tweets 1 min read
1/4 Thought for our time:
"Experts should be on tap, not on top."

@fleroy1974 tweeted this '02 paper "The arrogance of preventive medicine" cmaj.ca/content/167/4/…. While it's focus is the hormone replacement therapy debacle, *perhaps* we can add a few others to the list 🤔😏🤠 2/4
"I place the blame directly on the medical “experts” who, to gain private profit (from their industry affiliations), to satisfy a narcissistic need for public acclaim or in a misguided attempt to do good, advocate “preventive” manoeuvres that have never been validated...
Jul 25, 2020 5 tweets 2 min read
Looking forward to this! Sodfather's runnin' with the big dogs again... Image
Jul 2, 2020 5 tweets 2 min read
1. More thoughts on protein in human nutrition. Remember that cereals supply a greater proportion of crude protein in humanity's diet than all animal source foods (ASF), combined. Image 2. Wheat provides almost half of that portion, a greater amount than any single ASF! Image
Jul 1, 2020 5 tweets 2 min read
1. More food for thought regarding protein in human nutrition: The composition of Plant Source Foods (PSF) is more variable than that of Animal Source Foods (ASF). For example: Here's Crude Protein content of almost 6k of soybean samples... Image 2. ...and the amino acid contents of those samples. Consider the implications for food tables and labels (which are typically based on the average values listed in tables)... Image
Jul 1, 2020 4 tweets 1 min read
Maybe I need a bigger plate...
I recommend the book. Along with a good overview of WW1, it focuses on the criminal "leadership" that insisted on pressing major advances (& their resulting casualties, some seconds before 1100 hr) *after* the armistice was signed. Image page 382
1. "The dimensions of loss can perhaps be appreciated visually. If one were to stand on a street corner at 9 A.M. and watch the spirits of the British dead march by four abreast, the column would be 97 miles long and would take twenty hours, or until five the next...
Jun 24, 2020 13 tweets 5 min read
1. Let's talk about protein in human nutrition. But, you may ask... 2. Well, for one thing, I've been taught the difference between "policy" and "science." For example: Policy, once established (regardless of scientific merit), resists change. hat tip to @ahhite
Jun 19, 2020 13 tweets 4 min read
This looks worthwhile Tickets are $19.99 USD