We are very pleased to launch this @FCRNetwork animation, which summarises the conclusions of our 2017 Grazed and Confused? report.

Grass-fed livestock – a climate solution?

Grazed and Confused? set out to answer the question: can grazing livestock help to mitigate climate change? If so, by how much?

Environmental impact studies generally show that ruminants, such as cattle, generate high greenhouse gas emissions per unit of food produced. However, some stakeholders claim that ruminants reared in well-managed grazing systems could actually be a net benefit to the climate, by encouraging carbon sequestration.

What did we find?

The report concludes that good grazing management can boost the sequestration of carbon in some locally specific circumstances, but that this effect is time-limited, reversible, and at the global level, substantially outweighed by the greenhouse gas emissions the animals generate. In short, while grazing systems may deliver a range of benefits and services – all of which merit further research – they are a net contributor to climate change, with limited potential for contributing to climate change mitigation.

You can find the video here.