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The Irish government recently proposed reducing Irish cow herds by 10% over the next three years to meet the European Union’s climate change targets, which includes a 25% reduction in emissions from farming by 2030
Properly raised and grazed livestock have a tremendously beneficial impact on ecological health and local microclimate
When land is left barren, it changes the microclimate on that swath of land. Two-thirds of the landmass on earth are already desertifying, which is why macroclimate is also impacted
While climate activists claim they’re promoting a “green” agenda, everything they propose suggests otherwise. Instead of transitioning factory farming into a regenerative model, which we know works wonders, they’re willfully ignoring the laws of nature upon which organic and sustainable environmentalism are based
The war on climate change, as currently fought, is ultimately a war on humanity itself
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The war on climate change, as currently fought, is ultimately a war on humanity itself, and the evidence for this is stacking up by the day. It began with nitrogen fertilizer restrictions1 in the summer of 2022, which alone is driving farmers out of business, and has now progressed to the needless culling of livestock — all in the name of combating climate change.
But what difference will climate have if there’s no food production? Without food, humanity dies. End of story. Of course, the unspoken plan is to replace all of these banned natural foods with genetically engineered lab-created fare, but that’s not going to do our health any favors, so humanity will still be facing extinction, just a slower and more excruciating one.
Culling Cows to Meet Climate Change Goals
In Ireland, the government recently proposed reducing Irish cow herds by 10% over the next three years to meet the European Union’s climate change targets,2 which include a 25% reduction in emissions from farming by 2030.3 The same insanity is creeping into the U.S. as well. The EU is just on a faster track. As reported by Cowboy State Daily, June 2, 2023:4
“Climate activists are coming for livestock producers and farmers. European governments have been targeting the agriculture industry for several years … Ireland’s government may need to reduce that country’s cattle herds by 200,000 cows over the next three years to meet climate targets.
Special President Envoy For Climate John Kerry recently warned at a climate summit for the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the human race’s need to produce food to survive creates 33% of the world’s total greenhouse gasses. ‘We can’t get to net-zero. We don’t get this job done unless agriculture is front and center as part of the solution,’ Kerry said.”
Cattle Promote Ecological Health and Healthy Climate Cycles
With those words, Kerry shows his ignorance and lack of qualifications for the job as climate czar, as properly raised and grazed livestock have a tremendously beneficial impact on ecological health and local climate. As agricultural advocate Kacy Atkinson told Cowboy State Daily:5
“Groupthink happens a lot around the climate change conversation. We get tunnel visioned on one piece of it without considering the full ramifications of what’s going to happen if we remove cattle from the land. Cattle contribute to drought resistance, soil health and wildfire reduction.
Just before cattle were introduced to North America and the industry began raising them, there were thousands of buffalo roaming the plains. Cows and buffalo are both ruminants, which is a type of animal that brings back food from its stomach and chews it again.
These animals’ digestive systems produce methane emissions. Today’s cattle population is similar in numbers to that of the buffalo herds. So, the methane emissions from ruminant animals aren’t anything new.”
Only Certain Agricultural Practices Promote Climate Change
In the 2013 TED Talk above, ecologist and international consultant Allan Savory explains why and how grazing livestock are the solution to climate change. Erratic climate is in large part caused by desertification (when fertile land dries up and turns to desert), which is what current conventional agricultural practices encourage.
This situation can only be effectively reversed by dramatically increasing the number of grazing livestock, Savory says. In essence, it’s not an excess of livestock that are causing the problem, but that we have far too few, and the livestock we do have, we’ve not managed properly.
To improve soil quality, we must improve its ability to maintain water. Once land has turned to bone-dry desert, any rain simply evaporates and/or runs off. The solution is twofold: The ground must be covered with vegetation, and animals must roam across the land. The animals must be bunched and kept moving to avoid overgrazing, thereby mimicking the movement of large wild herds. The animals serve several crucial functions on the land, as they:
- Graze on plants, exposing the plants’ growth points to sunlight, which stimulates growth
- Trample the soil, which breaks capped earth allowing for aeration
- Press seeds into the soil with their hooves, thereby increasing the chances of germination and diversity of plants
- Press down dying and decaying grasses, allowing microorganisms in the soil to go to work to decompose the plant material
- Fertilize the soil with their waste
The graphic below, which compares the carbon recycling of cows and fossil fuel emissions, is also instructive. The methane cows burp up eventually breaks down into carbon dioxide and water, both of which are taken up by plants. The carbon is then put back into the soil through the roots of the plants. This is the natural cycle, which benefits all life. Yet none of this ever makes it into the climate conversation.
Lesson Learned: The Unnecessary Massacre of 40,000 Elephants
In the TED Talk, Savory recounts how, as a young biologist, he was involved in setting aside large swaths of African land as national parks. This involved removing native tribes from the land to protect animals. Curiously, as soon as the natives were removed, the land began to deteriorate.
At that point, he became convinced that there were too many elephants, and a team of experts agreed. They then went on to cull some 40,000 elephants to reach a number they thought the land could sustain. Yet the land destruction only got worse. Savory calls the decision “the greatest blunder” of his life. Fortunately, the utter failure cemented his determination to dedicate his life to finding solutions.
Since then, studies have shown that whenever cattle are removed from an area to protect it from desertification, the opposite results. It gets worse. According to Savory, the reason for this is because we’ve completely misunderstood the causes of desertification.
We failed to realize that in seasonal humidity environments, the soil and vegetation developed with very large numbers of grazing animals meandering through. Along with these herds came ferocious pack hunting predators. The primary defense against these predators was the herd size. The larger the herd, the safer the individual animal within the herd.
These large herds deposited dung and urine all over the grasses (their food), and so they would keep moving from one area to the next. This constant movement of large herds naturally prevented overgrazing of plants, while periodic trampling ensured protective covering of the soil.
As explained by Savory, grasses must degrade biologically before the next growing season. This easily occurs if the grass is trampled into the ground. If it does not decay biologically, it shifts into oxidation — a very slow process that results in bare soil, which then ends up releasing carbon rather than trapping and storing it.
We’ve also failed to understand how desertification affects our global climate. He explains that barren earth is much cooler at dawn and much hotter at midday. When land is left barren, it changes the microclimate on that swath of land.
According to Savory, two-thirds of the landmass on earth is already desertifying, and “Once you’ve done that to more than half of the land mass on the planet, you’re changing macroclimate,” he says.
Culling Herds Won’t Benefit Climate
In response to the Cowboy State Daily article, Elon Musk tweeted, “This really needs to stop. Killing some cows doesn’t matter for climate change.”6 Indeed, to think that eliminating cattle will put an end to climate woes is rather ridiculous. Climate cycles have always existed and will continue to exist, even if all human and animal life on earth is removed.
Besides, real-world evidence such as that presented by Savory proves we need grazing livestock to normalize local microclimates. So, the true answer to undesired climate shifts would be to normalize local microclimates around the globe, and we do that by taking animals out of indoor factory conditions and out into the fields.
Lesson Learned: The Unnecessary Massacre of 40,000 Elephants
In the TED Talk, Savory recounts how, as a young biologist, he was involved in setting aside large swaths of African land as national parks. This involved removing native tribes from the land to protect animals. Curiously, as soon as the natives were removed, the land began to deteriorate.
At that point, he became convinced that there were too many elephants, and a team of experts agreed. They then went on to cull some 40,000 elephants to reach a number they thought the land could sustain. Yet the land destruction only got worse. Savory calls the decision “the greatest blunder” of his life. Fortunately, the utter failure cemented his determination to dedicate his life to finding solutions.
Since then, studies have shown that whenever cattle are removed from an area to protect it from desertification, the opposite results. It gets worse. According to Savory, the reason for this is because we’ve completely misunderstood the causes of desertification.
We failed to realize that in seasonal humidity environments, the soil and vegetation developed with very large numbers of grazing animals meandering through. Along with these herds came ferocious pack hunting predators. The primary defense against these predators was the herd size. The larger the herd, the safer the individual animal within the herd.
These large herds deposited dung and urine all over the grasses (their food), and so they would keep moving from one area to the next. This constant movement of large herds naturally prevented overgrazing of plants, while periodic trampling ensured protective covering of the soil.
As explained by Savory, grasses must degrade biologically before the next growing season. This easily occurs if the grass is trampled into the ground. If it does not decay biologically, it shifts into oxidation — a very slow process that results in bare soil, which then ends up releasing carbon rather than trapping and storing it.
We’ve also failed to understand how desertification affects our global climate. He explains that barren earth is much cooler at dawn and much hotter at midday. When land is left barren, it changes the microclimate on that swath of land.
According to Savory, two-thirds of the landmass on earth is already desertifying, and “Once you’ve done that to more than half of the land mass on the planet, you’re changing macroclimate,” he says.
Culling Herds Won’t Benefit Climate
In response to the Cowboy State Daily article, Elon Musk tweeted, “This really needs to stop. Killing some cows doesn’t matter for climate change.”6 Indeed, to think that eliminating cattle will put an end to climate woes is rather ridiculous. Climate cycles have always existed and will continue to exist, even if all human and animal life on earth is removed.
Besides, real-world evidence such as that presented by Savory proves we need grazing livestock to normalize local microclimates. So, the true answer to undesired climate shifts would be to normalize local microclimates around the globe, and we do that by taking animals out of indoor factory conditions and out into the fields.
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