Defending Beef The Case for Sustaina..., Nicolette Hahn Niman
Defending Beef The Case for Sustaina..., Nicolette Hahn Niman
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Defending Beef: The Case for Sustainable Meat Production

Author: Nicolette Hahn Niman

Narrator: Nicolette Hahn Niman

Unabridged: 10 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Novel Audio

Published: 04/18/2017


Synopsis

For decades it has been nearly universal dogma among environmentalists and health advocates that cattle and beef are public enemy number one.

But is the matter really so clear cut? Hardly, argues environmental lawyer turned rancher Nicolette Hahn Niman in her new book, Defending Beef.

The public has long been led to believe that livestock, especially cattle, erode soils, pollute air and water, damage riparian areas, and decimate wildlife populations.

In Defending Beef, Hahn Niman argues that cattle are not inherently bad for either the Earth or our own nutritional health. In fact, properly managed livestock play an essential role in maintaining grassland ecosystems by functioning as surrogates for herds of wild ruminants that once covered the globe. Hahn Niman argues that dispersed, grass-fed, small-scale farms can and should become the basis for American food production, replacing the factory farms that harm animals and the environment.

The author―a longtime vegetarian―goes on to dispel popular myths about how eating beef is bad for our bodies. She methodically evaluates health claims made against beef, demonstrating that such claims have proven false. She shows how foods from cattle―milk and meat, particularly when raised entirely on grass―are healthful, extremely nutritious, and an irreplaceable part of the world’s food system.

Grounded in empirical scientific data and with living examples from around the world, Defending Beef builds a comprehensive argument that cattle can help to build carbon-sequestering soils to mitigate climate change, enhance biodiversity, help prevent desertification, and provide invaluable nutrition.

Defending Beef is simultaneously a book about big ideas and the author’s own personal tale―she starts out as a skeptical vegetarian and eventually becomes an enthusiastic participant in environmentally sustainable ranching.

While no single book can definitively answer the thorny question of how to feed the Earth’s growing population, Defending Beef makes the case that, whatever the world’s future food system looks like, cattle and beef can and must be part of the solution.

Reviews

An excellent, down to earth, science based and fact checked analysis on the impact of cattle on the planet. I'm a vegetarian, and a lot of the arguments countered in this book were among the ones I've used to justify my diet. Since I know there's a lot of bullshit in vegan/vegetarian circles in atte......more

Goodreads review by Alyshia

As a previous biologist-turned-lawyer, Hahn Niman defends how integral bovines are to our agricultural system and more largely the sustainability of our political economies. I found her writing to be delightful and while she's not as readable as Pollan, Hanh Niman's created a persuasive argument bas......more

My favorite book! I have personal experience in range management and medicine. I am an “expert witness“ that this book contains a wealth of wisdom. Just see how good your life would be if you buy her arguments. As a physician I witnessed people coming back to life when they eat more animal products an......more

Goodreads review by Mike

So, the author is a libiot who worked for/with RFKJr as an Environment Lawyer and spokesperson for governments on deciding what We the People will eat (what bull crap; we'll end up with weeds and bugs). But the author of the book is fortunately arguing the correct position for the wrong reasons (or......more