Food Revolution Network: Can Eating Cows Save the Planet?
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our opinion
We appreciate that domestic breeds of animals can be cared-for in sanctuary, and can also graze in a polyculture system, with attention given to providing vital pollinator habitat. Debates regarding the capacity for well-managed grazing operations to contribute a significant impact in offsetting carbon are addressed in this article.
We continue to advocate for a perennial polyculture or agroforestry/permaculture systems, with open spaces between trees occupied by pollinator habitat. Selecting certain areas for conservation annual cropping.
SUMMARY
“Industrial animal agriculture is a total environmental disaster, polluting local ecosystems and contributing to climate change. While one obvious response is simply to stop eating animals, there’s a growing movement known as “regenerative agriculture” that claims that raising cows can be part of the solution to climate change and other environmental problems. We asked Dr Doug Gurian-Sherman, a leading agricultural scientist, to share the real science with our readers.”
"The challenge for RA pasture beef is not at the individual farm level. For now, pasture raised RA beef is such a small sector of US agriculture that it is not consequential for climate change or land use. Addition of RA beef at this level could have local benefit, but is not going to meaningfully affect global climate change. Over time, if CAFO beef production can be reduced, as it should, there should also be considerable room for increased RA pasture production. This is provided that we collectively achieve lower levels of per capita meat consumption. If this occurs widely it may make a measurable contribution to removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, though probably much less than some RA advocates suggest."
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Watch this video for an even better analysis, complete with citations in the description section below the video.