Cow as Scapegoat

with Diana Rodgers, RD

Red meat seems to be a singular focus for much that is wrong with the modern world. We’re told that it’s possibly carcinogenic and that cows are “destroying the planet.” Diana Rodgers, RD, and best-selling author Robb Wolf beg to differ. They are the authors of “Sacred Cow” and the driving force behind the movie by the same name.

In today’s conversation, they set the record straight on a number of levels. They cover how well-managed cattle can be a net carbon sink for the environment. They explain how cattle don’t actually take up “too much land” because not all land is suitable for cropping. And they review when it was that beef and fat began to be viewed as “bad” for health, when in fact the truth is just the opposite. Our bodies thrive on animal products, and have done so for millennia. All in all, they make a strong case for “better meat” from regenerative farms.

Notes:

Highlights from the conversation include:

where and when to watch the screening of Sacred Cow film
• How Robb got involved in the project
• How fewer ruminants are now roaming the earth today compared to centuries ago
Why cattle are accused of driving climate change
• The difference between biogenic methane and fossil fuel emissions
Surprising sources of methane (shellfish)
• Small-minded thinking around greenhouse gas emissions
How well managed ruminants can become a carbon sink
The issues with CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations)
• Why the calculation of cattle using too much water has an erroneous starting point
How not all land is arable
• Why meat is essential to our diets
• When meat and fat fell into disfavor
• How we’re eating less red meat today than in the 1970s & yet we are more sick
How to support the “Sacred Cow” initiative