Not really. It would be a mistake. This comes out of another thread, but I thought it might prove amusing and insightful to consider it.
Though it would be a mistake, it would probably be more effective in limiting beef consumption than the drug war is in limiting marijuana use. Also, the damaging effects of prohibition would be less.
Similarities
Neither marijuana nor beef show much sign of being physically addictive. They can be habit forming.
Both, have rather mild ill effects. When used in moderation both seem to be fairly benign and have some benefits. I would argue beef is more dangerous, though.
Alternatives
There are many alternatives to beef (e.g., chicken, pork, fish, etc.) that are readily available in the market. You would not even need to outlaw beef to get people to switch to the alternatives. You could just put a significant tax on it and people would switch to other meats in herds (haha).
Further, the alternatives to beef seem to be safer. That is not true with marijuana. The alternatives to marijuana are other drugs (e.g., alcohol, pain meds, cocaine, heroin, etc.) most of which are far more dangerous than marijuana.
Enforcement
How will you conceal your cows? You will need a male and female to continue as a going concern through breeding. Then you will have one or more that will eventually be slaughtered. With pot you could continue with one plant and just clone it, though it might not be too efficient. Actually, banning beef might lead to cloning advancements but that would be very costly for now. So you are going to need to find a place for all your cattle and they will require more room than marijuana.
If you have a growroom in your closet then there are some ways the police or a "concerned citizen" (I was going to say rat bastard stool pigeon, but...) might discover that. They might see it, smell it, notice your electricity/water use jumped or that you are buying things involved in caring for the plants. All of those would be ways that one might discover you are raising cattle, but in addition to those you have many more worries. A cow is an animal, rather than a plant, which means it moves around. Not to mention, cows are pretty smart while plants are not. Plants won't find some ingenious way to break out of the growroom and wander down the street. Nor will they make noise. Then there are problems with the wastes products of cows.
Finally, meat rots. That guy on the street corner is going to have a hard time finding ways to conceal his refrigerator. When the cops give chase it is going to be bitch lugging that thing around. You can't swallow it either.
So policing cattle would probably be much easier.
3) Ill Effects of Prohibition
Some of the effects have already been noted. The health effects of alternatives, might be a positive with beef, while with marijuana they are decidely negative.
But, like with marijuana the health effects of beef would likely increase with prohibition. The fact that meat rots and can be contaminated easily is the reason. It would be very dangerous to eat beef from a black market supplier. The chance that you are going to get some poisoned weed is lower than the chance of getting contaminated meat from a legal market, much less a black market.
The heightened risk of black market meat, the problems of delivery in a black market and the fact that so many safer alternatives are readily available means that beef use could be dramatically reduced with prohibition. Still, those depraved individuals that sought it out would be at great risk.
Marijuana prohibition has not been very effective, if at all, in lowering use and has also raised the risks involved with use. It is a complete and utter failure and plainly more stupid and more ill advised than beef prohibition.
Though it would be a mistake, it would probably be more effective in limiting beef consumption than the drug war is in limiting marijuana use. Also, the damaging effects of prohibition would be less.
Similarities
Neither marijuana nor beef show much sign of being physically addictive. They can be habit forming.
Both, have rather mild ill effects. When used in moderation both seem to be fairly benign and have some benefits. I would argue beef is more dangerous, though.
Alternatives
There are many alternatives to beef (e.g., chicken, pork, fish, etc.) that are readily available in the market. You would not even need to outlaw beef to get people to switch to the alternatives. You could just put a significant tax on it and people would switch to other meats in herds (haha).
Further, the alternatives to beef seem to be safer. That is not true with marijuana. The alternatives to marijuana are other drugs (e.g., alcohol, pain meds, cocaine, heroin, etc.) most of which are far more dangerous than marijuana.
Enforcement
How will you conceal your cows? You will need a male and female to continue as a going concern through breeding. Then you will have one or more that will eventually be slaughtered. With pot you could continue with one plant and just clone it, though it might not be too efficient. Actually, banning beef might lead to cloning advancements but that would be very costly for now. So you are going to need to find a place for all your cattle and they will require more room than marijuana.
If you have a growroom in your closet then there are some ways the police or a "concerned citizen" (I was going to say rat bastard stool pigeon, but...) might discover that. They might see it, smell it, notice your electricity/water use jumped or that you are buying things involved in caring for the plants. All of those would be ways that one might discover you are raising cattle, but in addition to those you have many more worries. A cow is an animal, rather than a plant, which means it moves around. Not to mention, cows are pretty smart while plants are not. Plants won't find some ingenious way to break out of the growroom and wander down the street. Nor will they make noise. Then there are problems with the wastes products of cows.
Finally, meat rots. That guy on the street corner is going to have a hard time finding ways to conceal his refrigerator. When the cops give chase it is going to be bitch lugging that thing around. You can't swallow it either.
So policing cattle would probably be much easier.
3) Ill Effects of Prohibition
Some of the effects have already been noted. The health effects of alternatives, might be a positive with beef, while with marijuana they are decidely negative.
But, like with marijuana the health effects of beef would likely increase with prohibition. The fact that meat rots and can be contaminated easily is the reason. It would be very dangerous to eat beef from a black market supplier. The chance that you are going to get some poisoned weed is lower than the chance of getting contaminated meat from a legal market, much less a black market.
The heightened risk of black market meat, the problems of delivery in a black market and the fact that so many safer alternatives are readily available means that beef use could be dramatically reduced with prohibition. Still, those depraved individuals that sought it out would be at great risk.
Marijuana prohibition has not been very effective, if at all, in lowering use and has also raised the risks involved with use. It is a complete and utter failure and plainly more stupid and more ill advised than beef prohibition.
). There is no equivalent of e coli or mad cow for pot either.