03/31/2022
Yes this!!
The number one "ah-ha" moment people have when first learning about the benefits of livestock is when they understand land-use. Counter to what most anti-meat groups and mainstream media says, livestock don't "take up" 3/4 of our agricultural land.
Here's the truth:
About 60% of the world's agricultural land is ONLY SUITABLE AS GRAZING LAND. This is because the land is either too rocky, hilly, dry, or the soil is too poor for growing crops.
In many parts of the world, raising and grazing livestock is one of the only ways people can survive, nutritionally and economically.
And many traditional cultures - if they were to adopt the nutrition and food production guidelines popularized within affluent developed nations - would be incapable of producing any of their own nutrition.
They would be entirely dependent on crops raised thousands of miles away. They’d lose their livelihood, and they'd also have to take a lot of supplements to account for the lost nutrients.
We have to address these conversations when we talk about truly sustainable food systems.
Ruminants like cattle, bison, goats, and sheep convert grass and other inedible "food waste" we can't eat to protein, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that we can eat. They're food "up-cyclers".
And they are doing this on land we can't and shouldn't use for crops, and in turn, contributing to food security and food justice.
If you want to learn more about why it’s important to support people’s right to choose nutrient-dense, animal-sourced foods, head on over to for a more detailed breakdown of the facts!