Habitat-Fed Beef: Separating Facts From Fiction in Grass-Fed and ‘Regenerative’ Beef
« Everyone from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fast-food companies is seeking solutions to the environmental harms caused by beef production — experimenting with carbon sequestration, regenerative grazing systems, and technologies to address emissions. Grass-fed beef has been touted as the answer to the problem of factory farms.
But how do we ensure that conversations about soil health and carbon sequestration don’t lose the holistic view of how cattle interact with wildlife and wild places? What does it mean for cattle producers to be stewards of the land, and how does that change when we focus on ecology and biodiversity?
In a country like the United States, which consumes four times the global average in beef, culture wars shape the way we talk about, think about, study, and address how much beef we eat and how it’s produced. The beef industry, infamous for a powerful lobby and increasing consolidation, is embracing “regenerative” language. Yet exactly what’s required to make a beef producer sustainable — and whether sustainable beef is even possible — remains unclear.
Join the Center for Biological Diversity on March 23, 2022, at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET for a discussion on how we can navigate the best solutions to the environmental problems of beef.
Speakers:
Dr. Tara Garnett is the author of the 2017 report Grazed and Confused; a researcher at the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford; and the acting director of Table, which analyzes evidence that drives perspectives of food systems controversies and how knowledge is communicated to policymakers, industry and stakeholders to build solutions. She holds a Ph.D. from the Center for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey.
Nicholas Carter is a writer and ecologist. He has a master’s degree in environmental science and is the cofounder of PlantBasedData.org.
Chris Bugbee is a field ecologist, wildlife conservationist and Southwest advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. His work focuses on borderland wildlife issues, many of which intersect with cattle grazing. He has a master’s degree in interdisciplinary ecology. »
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