The Environmental and Climate Impacts of Ranching

From the Amazon rainforest to the Great Plains, ranching is an integral part of the cultural fabric of communities and economies around the world. Raising livestock can provide meat, dairy, and raw materials such as leather and wool. In fact, livestock comprise about 40% of agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) across the globe. Despite its importance, however, ranching can have cataclysmic effects on our environment and climate.

In South America, ranchers have cleared large areas of grassland to increase suitable habitats for cattle ranching. Considerable demand for beef has unfortunately caused ranchers to expand their clear-cutting into highly protected parts of the Amazon rainforest to create more pastureland. This rampant clear-cutting has many disastrous consequences on the environment.

First, deforestation dramatically reduces the habitats of native species of birds and insects not found anywhere else in the world. Vulnerable species include the Golden Parakeet, Belem Curassow, Black-winged Trumpeter, and hundreds of other species. Second, cattle ranching can have varying impacts on different land types. For example, ranches located on converted forest land are typically not as productive as ranches situated on grasslands, causing a need to further extend livestock production areas. Cattle ranching practices are also inconsistent across the globe. In Brazil, almost 90% of Brazilian cattle are pasture-raised, whereas in the United States most cattle are raised in feedlots. This demand for pasture-raised cattle further exacerbates deforestation in the Amazon. Third, runoff from ranches containing fertilizers, pesticides, and antibiotics can contribute to water pollution. The alteration of environments for cattle ranching can also cause soil erosion. For example, agricultural expansion into the Amazon could increase soil erosion by 20%.

Raising cattle is particularly resource-intensive and directly contributes to climate change. In fact, livestock supply chains account for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cattle themselves emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas, while digesting plants. Cattle waste and crop fertilizers made for cattle feed also give off nitrous oxide, another harmful greenhouse gas. And of course, land conversion into new pastureland releases carbon dioxide stored in forests. In fact, the amount of land devoted to ranching is expected to increase by 400 hectares between 2010-2050, further raising greenhouse gas emissions levels.

While beef production will remain highly resource-intensive, improvements in the livestock production chain are possible. One such improvement begins with the implementation of regenerative farming, an indigenous practice that revitalizes the soil to produce high-quality food while improving land health and contributing to more vital communities and economies. One common method of regenerative agriculture involves the adoption of no-till practices. In traditional farming, tilling erodes the soil, depleting it of its nutrients and releasing carbon dioxide into the air. In contrast, no-till farming which removes the tillage step, leaves crop residues on the surface that can retain water, produces less herbicide runoff, increases crop yields, and ultimately saves money. Other regenerative farming methods include crop rotation, composting, cover crops, and rotational grazing.

As a premier producer of food situated in one of the world’s most environmentally fragile habitats, Latin America has tremendous potential to lead the way in the successful implementation of more resilient farming systems. By 2028, one-quarter of all global agricultural and fisheries exports will originate from Latin America, with livestock accounting for 46% of agricultural GDP. Latin American ranchers have already successfully implemented several different regenerative farming techniques. Successful rotational grazing in the Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna in Brazil, serves as the poster child for climate-friendly regenerative agricultural practices. For example, animals typically overgraze certain plant species, which causes a pasture to become unproductive, creating the need for industrial grains and fertilizers to help the pasture grow. Instead, farmers should concentrate their herbivores on a small portion of land to carry out all of their feeding, digesting, and defecating, after which the farmer would move them to a new tract of land and start the process again.

While the benefits of regenerative farming are understood, significant barriers are preventing wide adoption of these practices. Fortunately, a variety of organizations including NGOs, businesses, and philanthropic organizations recognize the importance of more sustainable farming methods in safeguarding our ecosystems, increasing resilience to climate change, and improving the economies and livelihoods of communities across the globe. For example, Rare’s Lands for Life program seeks to empower farming communities in Colombia to shift to more sustainable land-use techniques that help combat climate change. In particular, over the next five years, this program aims to improve soil health by 20% and work with at least 10,000 farmers to implement more climate-friendly agriculture and livestock management techniques.

With expected global population growth and the increasingly calamitous impacts of climate change, it is essential to implement sustainable agricultural and livestock management practices that not only strengthen land resilience but also boost local livelihoods. Even though investing in nature-based solutions while transitioning away from traditional ranching methods is an ambitious goal, many individuals and communities are well on their way, with support from one another and from social change-based organizations.