A webinar series hosted by the Center for Biological Diversity
Cattle grazing is a controversial and often confusing topic that's tied up with issues like the climate crisis, deforestation and biodiversity loss, industry investments, sustainability claims, technological solutions, food sovereignty, culture, and colonialism.
Join us for a webinar series in which experts will share the science that can help put these issues in context — and cut through common myths about the cattle grazing’s impact on the planet.
See the series schedule below:
Grazing the Wild: Facts and Fiction About Grass-Fed Beef series schedule:
Habitat-Fed Beef: Separating Facts From Fiction in Grass-Fed and ‘Regenerative’ Beef
March 23, 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET
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 — remain 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.
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
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 an ecologist and co-founder of PlantBasedData.org and serves as an advisor to several food- and environment-focused organizations. He is also the Communications Lead for one of the data hubs for the Canadian Centre for Climate Services. His research during a master’s degree in environmental practice focused on the glo
Nicholas Carter is an ecologist and co-founder of PlantBasedData.org and serves as an advisor to several food- and environment-focused organizations. He is also the Communications Lead for one of the data hubs for the Canadian Centre for Climate Services. His research during a master’s degree in environmental practice focused on the global greenhouse gas emissions that are attributed to animal agriculture.
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.
Cows, Climate and Culture Wars: Putting Bad Policy Out to Pasture
April 7, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET
There’s growing concern among scientists and the public about the environmental cost of the United States’ outsized appetite for beef. But there’s also a fierce political backlash against the suggestion that we reduce our beef consumption. These dynamics have everyone — from federal policymakers to local producers and big corporations — scrambling to broadcast new climate commitments on beef production, such as net-zero pledges.
In this conversation, food and climate experts will break down the climate science of beef and explore which solutions are most effective — and most needed — in climate policy and commitments. What’s the role for grass-fed and so-called regenerative beef in a climate-friendly food system? Where are the gaps in our ability to reduce climate emissions, and what are the limits and potentials of carbon sequestration, methane capture, carbon markets, consumer awareness and industry oversight? We’ll also discuss how culture wars shape the way we talk about, think about, study, and address climate impacts in beef production — and whether voluntary benchmarks can work under these conditions.
Join the Center for Biological Diversity on April 7, 2022, at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET for a discussion on climate solutions to the environmental issues with beef production and consumption.
Dr. Jonathan Foley is a world-renowned environmental scientist, sustainability expert, author, science communicator and public speaker. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including in Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the executive director of Project Drawdown an
Dr. Jonathan Foley is a world-renowned environmental scientist, sustainability expert, author, science communicator and public speaker. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including in Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the executive director of Project Drawdown and holds a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Matthew Hayek is an assistant professor of environmental sciences at New York University. He has presented and written numerous influential peer-reviewed papers on this topic broadly and holds a Ph.D. from Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science, in addition to a degree in physics from Wesleyan.
Dr. Silvia Secchi is trained as a natural resource economist, geographer and transdisciplinary scholar. She is a professor at the University of Iowa in the Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences and Public Policy Center. A thoroughly published scholar in food, agriculture and policy issues, she holds a Ph.D. in economics.
Regenerative Grazing: Addressing the Colonial Roots of Cattle Ranching
April 28, 3 p.m. PT/ 6 p.m. ET
The introduction of cows to the Americas brought colonialist legacies that changed the relationship of people to land. As we continue our webinar series about food, farming and the impacts of cows, we dive deeper into the history of how cattle grazing affected the ways land was imagined, understood and used.
Today regenerative practices are offered as options to heal the injustices and damaging agricultural practices of the past. This panel will discuss how we got here — how cows advanced colonial projects and capitalist economies and drove the loss of Native lives, livelihoods and culture. To transform the food system, we need food justice, land equity, restoration of traditions, and challenges to power, along with environmentally responsible practices.
In this conversation panelists will discuss both past and future, including pathways to revive knowledge and food practices that are more in line with healthy communities and living landscapes.
Join the Center for Biological Diversity and guests on April 28, 2022, at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET to discuss both the past and the future, including pathways to revive knowledge and food practices that are more in line with healthy communities and living landscapes.
Dr. Linda Alvarez studies violence, migration, comparative politics, and the ways marginalized groups resist dominant structures of power. She holds a Ph.D. in political science and an M.S. in international relations from Claremont Graduate University, along with an M.A. in Latin American studies from California State University, Los Angeles.
Dr. Liz Carlisle is the author of the new book Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming (2022). She is an assistant professor in environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has written several books about regenerative farming and agroecology and frequently writes about foo
Dr. Liz Carlisle is the author of the new book Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming (2022). She is an assistant professor in environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has written several books about regenerative farming and agroecology and frequently writes about food and farm policy. She holds a Ph.D. in geography from the University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Rosa Ficek is a cultural anthropologist at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayley. Her work addresses technology, empire and the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean, including the article “Cows, Capital, Colonization” that sparked this panel. She holds a Ph.D. in cultural anth
Dr. Rosa Ficek is a cultural anthropologist at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayley. Her work addresses technology, empire and the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean, including the article “Cows, Capital, Colonization” that sparked this panel. She holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology with an emphasis in Latin America studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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