What would happen if all cows disappeared in the energy pyramid?

Answer 1

Then the whole chain would eventually day out. Say it was:

Plant=>Caterpillar=>Blackbird=>Fox

The caterpillars would all die due to lack of food, then because of the caterpillars dying the Blackbirds would have no food then the fox would have no food, etc, etc.

Obviously there are more primary consumers like caterpillars but this is a simple example.

Answer 2

Cattle are an important part of cultures and societies on every continent except Antarctica. They produce milk (which can also be made into cheese), and can be consumed as beef.

If cows disappeared, many people worldwide would starve; and many others (especially children) would develop nutritional deficiencies from the lack of a ready supply of milk. Further, cultures such as Hinduism, in which the sacredness of cows are a central belief, would be strongly affected by their loss. On the other hand, collectively cows are a huge producer of methane, a greenhouse gas. If there were no cows, the amount of greenhouse gases in the air would be as much as 10% lower.

Answer 3

If there were no horses in the US, there would be alot of upset people, including me. If there were still horses in other counties, people would get them from there. Also, alot of buisnesses would crumble, such as, riding stables, racing industries, carriage industries, and many others. Also, because horses are being sent to forgiegn countries for slaughter, if the US no longer had horses to provide these foreign countries, that industry would also crumble, although I don't stand for horse slaughter. Basiclly, it'd be a diaster, a horse-lover's Great Depression.

Answer 4

The cattle industry in the United States have been around for about 400 years. It would be hard to believe that the U.S. would not have any cows around anymore, for anyone who's been in the business for generations.

Importations for beef, milk and other products would increase a thousand-fold. This means the government has to pay way more for imported food than it is today, which means taxes increase to meet the multi-gazillion dollars it takes to feed America imported beef. Demand for beef increases, out-doing the suppliers who have lower amounts of beef than what is wanted, and the price of beef increases for the consumers. The higher the demand, the higher the prices are. And the higher the prices, the more likely consumers are going to go find something that is cheaper and an alternative to beef, like pork or chicken.

But it ain't as simple as that. Tarriffs and quotas may be put in place for beef and milk, which will further affect prices, and also affect the incomes of the producers producing alternate meats. However, these tarriffs and quotas that are in place today only exist for the benefit of the U.S.'s beef producers. If America ran clean out of cattle, these tarriffs and quotas may be lifted, allowing more free-access market for other countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Urugray, Brazil, Mexico, etc. to bring beef in. It certainly would benefit Canada since 40% of Canada's beef exports are imported to the U.S!

All trade-talk aside, farmers and ranchers would have to find some other means of producing from the land. Crop production may increase, pork and poultry production will also increase, as well as the use of other ruminant animals like sheep and goats may replace the hardier cattle when grazing the mountain slopes and/or desert areas of New Mexico and Texas. Alternative livestock like bison, elk, deer, etc. may increase in farming as alternative "beef" for local consumers and those who still like their steaks. We may be seeing less obese people as well, due to less beef in the supermarkets and on restaurants' menus. A whole list of things may happen if the U.S. didn't have a cattle industry any more.

Answer 5

There is actually a much better answer to this we would lose many valuable resources and foods such as Hamburgers, leather clothes, shaving creams, gummy bear, mayo, marshmallows combs, coatings on pills. certain soaps etc. So we better keep the cows safe...

Answer 6

We would not have many useful things in our life like hamburgers, milkshakes, gummy bears, marshmallows, soaps, shaving creams, mayo, coatings on pills etc. So... lets take care of the cows. -_-

No tendríamos muchas cosas útiles en nuestra vida, como hamburguesas, batidos, gomitas, malvaviscos, jabones, cremas de afeitar, mayonesa, recubrimientos de pastillas, etc Así que ... que hay que cuidarla de las vacas. -_-

Answer 7

Many different things could happen, good and bad. People will have to find some other source of protein and Vitamin B12; ranches will no longer become cattle ranches, but perhaps sheep, bison or elk ranches; Bison and elk may increase as a red meat mainstay instead of it once being an alternative; world beef and dairy industry will no longer exist, and governments will have to find some other source of income and trade; poor cattle farmers will have to raise sheep and goats instead of cattle; the Hindu will have to find some other sacrid animal; greenhouse gases may decrease, but that's hard to say; etc.

Answer 8

If a cows disappeared from the energy pyramid, the amount of protein and fat available for consumption would be reduced dramatically. It would not be easy to replace quickly.

Answer 9

This would mean that cows would have to be seriosly edangered or extinct. We would loose a few meat products.

Answer 10

Then there is no food chain anymore.