Regenerative Grazing is Overhyped as a Climate Solution
Articles/Websites
Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APBiology, Earth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Project Drawdown
What it is
- This article from Project Drawdown explains some of the misconceptions about regenerative cattle grazing, addressing greenwashing and the issues of land use and availability, wildlife displacement/replacement, methane emissions, and the finite capacity of soils to absorb additional carbon over time.
- Students will gain a better understanding of the many climate and environmental concerns with meat production, the ways regenerative grazing can be helpful, and why it is best to implement as many related solutions as possible, including reducing meat production, reducing food waste, and applying any improvements to meat production where available.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The author writes in a friendly, personal tone, which is engaging and inviting for readers.
- Students will benefit from this straightforward, realistic explanation of a climate solution.
Prerequisites
- It may help to present the sources of various greenhouse gas emissions by sector and for different foods and show them the table of solutions so that they can compare the relative impacts of various climate solutions and reducing the sources of pollution.
Differentiation & Implementation
- To provide students with background knowledge about regenerative agriculture, teachers may want to combine this article with this video.
- To connect this resource with topics such as deforestation, animal extinctions, and water use, use the linked resources as homework or as a jigsaw assignment and have students present to the class on their topic.
- Connections to AP Environmental Science can be made to a number of units and can be supported with this video about ecosystem services.
- To practice summarization and demonstrate their understanding of the article, students can write a paragraph to explain why regenerative grazing isn't as effective a solution as it is made out to be.
- After reading this article, students can explore how greenwashing is used by companies, as mentioned in the article. Students can search for examples of greenwashing in the meat industry. Teachers can also use this media literacy lesson to explore other examples of greenwashing.
- Teachers can make connections to UN Sustainable Development Goal 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, and Goal 13, Climate Action.
From the scientist review
This resource from Project Drawdown is an article that examines both the limitations and benefits of regenerative grazing. The article links to a wide range of supporting materials, including peer-reviewed research, interactive data visualizations, and articles from sources such as Nature, Our World in Data, FAO, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations. This resource would make a great addition to classroom discussions on sustainable agriculture, land use, and interpreting real-world data.
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