Is Red Meat Bad for the Environment?

The idea that red meat consumption needs to stop today (or better yet, yesterday) has become a popular one. I am frequently met with this idea, and many environmentalists have personally expressed their concern to me when they hear about my Bison Liver & Organ Complex. They mention that the product sounds fantastic and often are more than ready to admit it sounds like it would enhance their own health and well-being. However, the thought that they’re contributing to climate change and the detriment of the human race (and all other Earthly beings) is too heavy on their conscience to consume bison supplements or meat.

This idea is greatly misguided. While most cattle and some bison operations contribute to environmental degradation, it is not the case with regenerative ranching. Regenerative ranching techniques actually improve the environment over time, hence the name regenerative. They actually regenerate the land and soil, and in turn the products of these ranches can contribute to the regeneration of our own health and bodies.

Regenerative ranching techniques have a negative net carbon output. These operations actually put more carbon into the soil than they release into the atmosphere. This carbon in turn holds more moisture in the soil, reducing the need to irrigate grasslands. The microbiome of ruminant species mimics that of the naturally-occurring biome in soil, and ruminants (like bison) are essentially probiotic inoculators of the soil, adding beneficial organisms that enhance the soil’s ability to retain water, carbon, and facilitate the cycling of nutrients and minerals in the soil. This process creates a rich soil capable of growing nutrient-dense grasses or other species. The process can also reverse desertification, and can bring abundance of life to previously-void dirt.

The meat from these animals can regenerate human health, as I and many others can personally attest.

When we consume animals raised using regenerative methods, we are doing everything BUT degrade the environment. We are improving the environment in every way; the actual soil and land the bison are raised on is improved. These ranches sequester carbon, bank moisture, and reduce soil erosion, adding to the potential integrity of surrounding properties and ranches. The bison live happy lives, expressing their bisonness everyday on these lands. These ranches are generally relatively small in size, which means they can only supply so many people. This encourages more-but-smaller ranches, adding to the resilience of our food supply (does anyone remember what happened to supplies during covid??). The consumable products from these ranches are nutrient dense and anti-inflammatory, adding to the health of the humans that consume from them. This in turn reduces the burden on our medical and health care systems, and improves human quality of life. I know when I feel better, I function better for myself and my society.

In conclusion, true regenerative ranching practices do not degrade ANY aspect of the environment. In fact, they improve ALL aspects of their environment—the land beneath them, the air around them, the bison raised on them, the humans consuming from them, and the society of which they are a part.

So, do yourself and everyone else around you a favor. Eat some regeneratively-ranched bison meat. Or, better yet, eat some regeneratively ranched bison liver and organs.