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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
George Monbiot

The most damaging farm products? Organic, pasture-fed beef and lamb

A drone photo shows an aerial view of Merinos and Polatli sheep at a farm in Turkey
Some 28% of the world’s land is used for grazing. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Perhaps the most important of all environmental issues is land use. Every hectare of land we use for extractive industries is a hectare that can’t support wild forests, savannahs, wetlands, natural grasslands and other crucial ecosystems. And farming swallows far more land than any other human activity.

What are the world’s most damaging farm products? You might be amazed by the answer: organic, pasture-fed beef and lamb. I realise this is a shocking claim. Of all the statements in my new book, Regenesis, it has triggered the greatest rage. But I’m not trying to wind people up. I’m trying to represent the facts. Let me explain.

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